Facts and curiosities about women's football

Whenever I talk about women's football, it is inevitable for me not to compare it to mathematics. I never liked them, they were my headache and today I understand why; they were never explained to me so that I could understand them and get to like them. That's when I understood that we reject what we don't know.

My beginnings in women's football

In 2014, I was invited to work as Sports Manager of Amateur Football at the Mexican Football Federation. This stage was very challenging because I did not come from the field, I didn't have any credibility in the business and the women's branch was almost nonexistent.

One of my first tasks was to create a strategy to grow women's football in Mexico. What a challenge! The fronts for me were lost. I was not known in the industry, I had little knowledge of the challenges involved and little or no support from the experts (coaches and players) and I don't blame them.

For me, there was something even deeper to the subject of women's football: understanding the essence, what differentiates it from men's, and the challenges it faces. So, as with mathematics, I had to start studying to delve into this fascinating world.

So, today I want to share with you a summary of some facts, curiosities, stories, and more, so that you can join me in this adventure of knowing, learning, and spreading the word about women's football::

The challenges of girls and physical activity

• According to the World Health Organization, only 4% of girls between the ages of 6 and 19 meet the daily physical activity recommendations (60 minutes a day).
• If a girl does not participate in sports by age 10, there is only a 10% chance that she will be physically active by the age of 25 (Bunker 1988).
• Teenage girls report more obstacles to playing a sport than boys, for example, resources, time, and concern for their safety, as well as a lack of structures and role models.

My purpose in women's sports is not an issue of gender, ego, or meritocracy, but an issue of the RIGHT to offer accessibility to those who historically have not had it. Did you know that?

Brief history of women's football

The first recorded international match was in 1881 in Edinburgh, where 11 women from Scotland played against 11 women from England. The sportswear, uniforms, booties with heels, corsets, and headscarves, and women's sporting fashions were suitable for the time. The local Glasgow Herald newspaper described it as a “primitive and degrading spectacle.”

In World War I, women's football was in its second wind, while the men were on the battlefronts, the women had to take their jobs in the factories and, with this, play football in their spare time, allowing them to compete against each other all over Europe.

In 1970, the first effort to organize a World Cup was made with the creation of the RIMET CUP, which was hosted by Italy and had the participation of 7 countries, including Mexico, which won third place in the competition.

In 1991 the first FIFA Women's World Cup was held in the People's Republic of China and 1996 it was officially recognized as part of the Olympic program in Atlanta.

Female players break down barriers and social paradigms

It is important to mention these data since they situate us in the reality of women's football. Continuity, in terms of sporting and business development, has been very deficient and slow over time. Over 100 years, there have been few and very conflictive actions at a social, sporting, and economic level.

It is interesting to analyze that women's football is multidimensional and with more barriers than opportunities. Have you ever asked yourself: what sporting path did that player have to go through to get where she is, did she have the support of her parents or community without gender or cultural prejudices, did she have economic, sporting, structural, and emotional support?

Nowadays, generations are in transformation, it is not enough to watch a World Cup on TV. The change in perception will come when girls begin to play football without ties because on the field is where it all begins.

Present and future of women's football

According to data published by FIFA in the International Benchmarking 2023:

• There are 16.6 million girls and women playing women's football. This is a 24% increase from 2019.
• The United States remains the leading country in the number of female amateur players with 1,600,000 women and girls playing football, followed by Canada (290,087), Germany (197,575), and Sweden (196,907).

• Of this number, there are, as of today, 19,064 professional female players in the world.
• There are currently 48,202 female coaches, 5% of the total number of coaches worldwide.
• There are 66,125 registered female referees, 9% of the global refereeing total.

But why do we insist on evaluating football from a male perspective? Women's football must be judged and measured from its history and reality. These numbers show the growth it has had, especially in the last 20 years, and in an exponential way.

A reality to inspire, and normalize, is that girls today play on the field and the bench, in long pants, or shorts, on or off the field, as natural as adding that 2 + 2 is 4.

See you in a future newsletter, and I want to take the opportunity to invite you to follow me on my other social networks: Instagram and X .