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!

Related Posts: Meet Sara, Commissario Tecnico

Meet Sara, Commissario Tecnico

My friend V (aka Wanda) has been asking me for some time to write a blog entry. I’ve been a little reluctant because her blog is pretty specific to management of women’s soccer and she has a grip on marketing strategies and social media, while I just assimilate information from various outlets and elaborate on the “sociology of soccer”. Basically she has a clever blog, while I stand on the “sport bar” of things.

Most of our conversations end up comparing the evolution of soccer in North America vs what happens in the rest of the world. My take on things is that unless there is a progressive constant investment across federations, women’s soccer will keep being a semi-pro thing for the most part, relegated to limited glory moments, privilege of a few countries.

Now here is what. I’m Italian. I mean from Italy - not from the Jersey shore (no offence intended). I was born and raised in Italy, pasta and calcio and the drama that comes with it. My family of six is equally split between AC Milan (me and my dad), Juventus (older brother and younger sister) and Inter Milan (older sister and mother – hence the drama).

Before I continue, I need to point something out. This is fundamental. In Italy, nobody calls Milan “AC Milan”; it’s just Milan. The other team from the same city is Inter. Juventus is often called Juve and we refer to Juventus as “gobbi” (hunchbacked) - they don’t like it but hey; they refer other compliments at us, it’s ok. We show love and respect - soccer brotherhood - only when the Nazionale plays. If we happen to win the World Cup, we all reach heaven. Nothing else matters. It’s a collective happy drunken feeling. Nothing can bring you down. You are a world champion. I’m serious.

During a normal season, club supporters are managers, coaches, pundits for their teams. The president/team owner should call them; they know better. When the Nazionale plays, we all – the whole country – become CT; that is commissario tecnico, which is the National team’s coach. They should call us for the roster, starting eleven, system, subs. We all know better. Where do we come up with the formation, system, roster, etc.? At the bar, while drinking espresso and reading the Gazzetta dello Sport. That’s where all the “sport bar” conversations initiate. That’s our school. That’s where the theory and sociology of soccer begins and that is what I’m bringing to this blog.  

Closing the circle. My parents owned what? A bar. I would skip kindergarten because it was boring and they didn’t allow me to play what? Soccer. So I would spend time in the bar, playing arcade video games and …soccer. Yes, in the bar dribbling stools and chairs, scoring in the smallest possible space or just outside the door, banging the plasticlightcolored ball against the wall. I still remember the sound.  And I remember the comments “She’s good! She’s very good to be a girl!”. I just didn’t know what that meant. I played better than all other kids. And yes, all other kids where boys, but at the time I didn’t know that would have made a difference growing up. I was just playing … the beautiful game.

Check back for my next blog post or follow me on Twitter for updates. I can't wait to write, speculate and strategize with you on how to grow this beautiful game in our beautiful world!

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!