As World Women’s Soccer Day is commemorated on May 23, a date endorsed by FIFA and which makes visible the struggle of women for gender equality and opportunities in this sport, striker Mara Gómez, the first trans player in Argentina, and Daniela Díaz, coach of River’s first division women’s team, expressed their commitment to “continue opening doors” and recalled their struggle to earn a place in an environment historically dominated by men and that is still full of prejudice today.
“I would like to continue opening paths, claiming the rights of our collective and fighting to binarize sports and sports institutions. I would like to get to FIFA, for us to be heard and for more opportunities to be included in world professional football to open up”, told Télam Radio Mara Gómez, the first trans female soccer player in Argentina.
On World Women’s Soccer Day, she expressed that “women’s soccer has made enormous progress in our country, because today it is made visible, televised and there are some opportunities that were not there before; but there is still a lack of equal opportunities, better contracts, which not all of them are paid and, furthermore, they are not a salary”.
“There is a lack of equity -he added-, and that women’s soccer can live from this activity as it happens in men’s sports, that women can fully dedicate themselves to this professional, because today many of us have to work, study, fulfill the role of mother and in many cases it is not even possible to maintain a diet according to the sport. There is still a lot to improve in terms of fairness and equal opportunities”.
Current striker for Estudiantes de La Plata, Gómez remembers that her fight “it meant a change of life and with it, reversing the fears of adolescence that limited me in seeing that I could dream of a decent life and with fulfilling my dreams and goals”.
“This fight will open opportunities to other generations and it is a message that they can believe in their dreams, although the road is difficult, it is not impossible. I want to continue living this life, fulfilling goals without limitations due to gender or sex, and that it is meaningful to other people so that they fight for their dreams and the goals they set for themselves in life, “he concluded.
Daniela Díaz, coach of River’s First Division women’s team, for her part, stated that “International Women’s Soccer Day is a day of visibility and struggle for all the women who are involved in this sport, from wherever they are, and also to celebrate progress and continue fighting for what is missing.”
In that sense, he stressed that “it is no longer a novelty when a woman plays soccer” and stressed that “Argentine women’s soccer is growing, with a very even level in the First Division, this year being the one that has been matched the most , and with two categories that are also growing, such as B and C”.
“It would be necessary to federalize it more and to reach one hundred percent professionalism,” he warned.
Finally, he highlighted thehuge responsibility and commitment that represents her being the technical director of River, aware that “it also serves to open doors for many other women who struggle to be coaches and who have not yet been given the opportunity. It is a commitment to keep opening doors and inspiring more women to get into coaching,” she concluded.
