The women of Spain triumphed in their victory of the Women’s FIFA World Cup on August 20th. After hard work and stressful duels, the Spanish team came out cup-winning and intended to celebrate with much more purity than what occurred.
The final game of the 32nd Women’s World Cup involved Spain vs. England. It was 1-0, thanks to Olga Carmona who scored the vanquishing goal. Following the successful match, all of Spain gathered together and rejoiced! The players laid in a dog pile, coaches jumped in glee and the audiences’ roars shook Australia’s Stadium. Kate Fricke is a sophomore soccer star who plays competitively for Fire FC and Palisade’s varsity team. She avidly watched the Cup and cheered on Spain in the final match. “The way Spain played, they deserved to win. England was a little lazy. There were aspects in all the other games that Spain stuck out to me but I think that all the other teams could’ve played better. Spain was lucky to go through,” states Fricke.
Spanish soccer chief, Luis Rubiales portrayed his exhilaration through a non-consensual kiss planted on the lips of player Jenni Hermoso. This ignited a spark of anger, protest within the soccer community and demands for his resignation. The controversy has opened up the public’s eyes of how pervasive female soccer players are treated and how often misogyny is compressed and tolerated. This wasn’t the only instance of misconduct allegations during the 2023 World Cup. Zambian coach, Bruce Mwape was accused of rubbing his hands on the chest of one player before the team’s victory against Costa Rica. Mwape’s actions have been ignored by the Zambian associations. Fricke agrees with the blatant sexism of women’s soccer. “I think the Men’s World Cup is more supported while the women’s isn’t broadcasted everywhere. No one really pays attention unless you play soccer.” When asked about the display of unwanted affection between Rubiales and Hermoso, Fricke admits, “I just think it was unnecessary. To celebrate you can do something else rather than that. You’re a coach and you’re not supposed to be something more than that. I would feel weird if my coach acted that way towards me or another player.” Rubiales has been suspended for 90 days by FIFA. Spain’s achievements were undermined by actions that were demeaning and disrespectful. The moment of a lifetime, a historical landmark was once again ruined by the unjust superiority of men in authoritative positions.
