A World Cup of superlatives, and not for nothing – 07/21/2023 – Marina Izidro

It’s been 23 years and it seems like yesterday. The Sydney-2000 Games have always been something magical for the girl in love with the Olympics. I remember watching Brazil’s beach volleyball medals on Bondi Beach on television; Australian Aboriginal Cathy Freeman in a green, yellow and white jumpsuit with a head covering shooting towards gold in the 400 m dash and a place in history; Brazilian silver in the 4 x 100 m relay in athletics – just behind the Americans! And so many other memories of the Games considered “the best in history”, which took place so far away, on the other side of the planet.

Finally, I could see that all that exists and it’s really beautiful. I am writing from Sydney, where I cover the Women’s Football World Cup, which started on Thursday (20th) and runs until August 20th. In Bondi, on a sunny winter day, friends play beach volleyball, surfers come out of the sea, children skate. The athletics stadium in the Olympic park is now one of the venues for the World Cup.

It’s a special moment for women’s football. Saying this is the greatest World Cup in history is no exaggeration, it’s a fact. For the first time, two countries are hosting – Australia and New Zealand. It has the largest number of participating teams: it went from 12 in the first edition, in 1991, to 32 in 2023, with eight debutants: Morocco, Zambia, Haiti, Panama, Vietnam, Philippines, Ireland and Portugal. It will break the public record, with almost one and a half million tickets already sold.

It can be said that it is already a victory as a whole. If until a few years ago there was no professionalization or investment –even men’s uniforms had to be worn because there was no achievement for them–, today sponsors see that women’s sport is a big business. Athletes who grew up with male players as a reference and being told that soccer “is not for women” today inspire girls to play sports. After decades of fighting for equal rights and better working conditions, their voices began to be heard.

There are problems, of course, many. This is the ninth edition, and there have only been four champions: the United States, Germany, Japan and Norway. Seeing few countries on the podium reflects the lack of attention even in nations that love football but have given priority to men. Brazil, Italy, France and Spain have never won the Cup. Canada’s national team is facing financial problems and Jamaica’s had to fundraise for the team to compete. Host Australia recorded a video criticizing the difference in prize money, which has tripled compared to 2019 but is four times smaller than that of the men’s World Cup.

Not even the host countries were saved from the pre-event crises. Days before the opening ceremony, Australia announced that it had pulled out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to budget overruns. Hours before New Zealand faced Norway, a man shot dead two people in Auckland, the scene of the opening match.

When I was a kid, women’s soccer was barely on television. Going to the stadium then, no way. Those were other times, and it’s good to see how much the world has changed. When talking about the evolution of the modality, I saw several players around here thanking the pioneers who fought for rights, recognition, broke prejudices. And remembering that, without them, this new generation would not be here. This is thanks to the Sissis, Martas and Ants from Brazil and the world.

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