Is Soccer Stuck at Customs?

[Guest blog: by Sara @lapinats]

It hasn’t been a writer’s block, really. It was just a complicated subject, one of those you can decide to avoid, but I’m not like that (of course not), so rather than ignoring it, I’m heading right to the center of the room.

“Hello elephant”. 

It started with a flash and one word in my native tongue of Italian: “dogana”. Customs. To say it with the Oxford dictionary, the official department that administers and collects the duties levied by a government on imported goods.

Followed by another word: “sdoganare”. This is clearing through customs. But it also means legitimize, make acceptable. French has its own version, “dédouaner”. “Réhabiliter” is another way to express it: to rehabilitate.

And more flashes. Ok, here comes the hard part. This is not a five minutes read. It requires “jumps”. 

“Un vrai sport de gonzesses”, a documentary by Farid Haroud (in French).

It’s about the history of women’s soccer in France, the origin of a sport where women came to compete on the “men’s field”. There’s black and white footage at the beginning, showing the Italian WNT playing; the voice of the commentator at one point says something like “[…] I can assure you, these are real women, these are not monsters”. Pretty strong. Great documentary and chapeau to Canal+ for sharing it.

Caitlin Fisher’s TED talk on “how female athletes negotiate spaces and recreate their identities in order to enter the still very masculine arena of sports.”

This is about women soccer in Brazil, but I have a gut feeling this could be about women soccer anywhere outside the US and Canada. Just a feeling.

Sports Illustrated story from the May 6, 2013 issue. NBA player Jason Collins’ coming out.

There is a thread. No, it’s not an easy subject. No, it doesn’t mean necessarily anything. It doesn’t imply, it doesn’t need to justify. It is a fact. Soccer is a good. Women’s soccer is a good. For some reasons it’s stuck at customs. This is more of a fact in some places than in others, but it’s pretty widespread. There’s an official department that doesn’t give the impression of wanting to administer this good and there are some duties being paid, usually by the players, by the sport, by those who would like to play and let play. If you are a fan of the sport, you are paying a duty too. You’re paying by having limited access to it. Either you happen to be in the right place, or you have to come up with creative ways to watch the games. Pixeling is a common friend. To many more, the game is denied.

To say it like Caitlin Fisher, some deeper structures aren’t changing. There are workarounds and a lot of patience.

At one point in his story, Jason Collins says, “the climate has shifted”.

Here is what I think.

I know the good of women’s soccer is harmless, and in fact brings much value to its point of entry. It’s stuck because of silly reasons. Biases. Again with Collins, “everyone is terrified of the unknown”. But I, and probably you who read this, know the good and know it is good. It’s just a game and it really doesn’t matter – shouldn’t matter – who plays it. I want to find the key to “sdoganate” women’s soccer to the general public – yes I’ve just made up a word. On this I believe I can speak for both myself and Wanda: we want to further legitimize women’s soccer. We want to clear it from customs.

How do we make it happen?

It happens by reaching out to those who would like to play and let play, analyzing stats, numbers, comparing different clubs, federations, what they are doing, what challenges they find, the reasons why. If I were them (you) I would be super frustrated. This is the sport bar, right? Come on in, we’ll listen. If you want, we’ll make noise for you. Right, noise. If you are in a stadium and sing on your own, nobody hears you. But if you are organized enough to turn a single voice into a group and sing together, it will be a chant. That’s hard not to hear, that’s hard to ignore. That’s actually fun and something you want to listen to. Want to join?

I’m not clueless, I know about the cultural implications; I know how difficult it is to play soccer in some countries. I come from there. I quit playing when I was 14 for two reasons: my mother didn’t want me to play; I didn’t think soccer was going to give me something, there was no Mia Hamm to look up to.

This can change, because the climate is shifting. You need a catalyst to accelerate a chemical reaction. This is the time for catalysts. Ask questions. Listen. Share your thoughts. Make noise. Join the chant. Even if that means walking to the center of the room and do what everybody has been terrified to do. “Hello elephant. Let’s talk”.

Join Italian me (Sara) on Twitter @Lapinats - I'm a Twitter newbie.  I'm also an Aries. Italian. Favorite color red. Love love love soccer. Talk a lot. Direct. Passionate. Curious. I think I'm funny. Lived in Italy, Ireland, USA. A loyal friend. Join dots. Leaps of faith. Big jumps. Believe in human potential. This is the voice of a dot. Let me hear your voice. Ciao!

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