Fans take in a playoff game of Boca Juniors versus River Plate, in the women’s first division, on Thursday May 2, 2019, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Natalie Alcoba for VICE News).
Macarena Sanchez, a soccer player who is taking legal action against her club and the Argentine soccer association for not recognizing her as a professional player, smiles before a mixed soccer match as part of an event called "I play for equality" in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, March 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Daniel Jayo)
“There’s kinda a belief in Argentina that women can’t have the same passion for fútbol as men,” said Gaby Garton, the U.S.-born goalkeeper currently playing for Argentina’s national squad. “They’re willing to put up with a lot of mistreatment to be able to continue doing what they love.”It's not only a question of respect for the sweat shed on the field; it’s also about representation in the wider culture. For the first time ever, fans can buy jerseys of players on Argentina’s Women’s World Cup team, and plans are underway for the government to dedicate a day in August to women soccer players.The movement’s success is also reflected in how the sport is being marketed. In March, Boca Juniors promoted the first game to be played by women in the men’s famed Bombonera stadium with photos of star players Camila Gómez Ares and Carolina Troncoso shoulder to shoulder with Argentine soccer legends Carlos Tevez and Darío Benedetto. And this month, Nike launched a billboard and television campaign that charts fútbol femenino’s broader battle in Argentina. It highlights the story of Candelaria Cabrera, an 8-year-old girl who fought to play on her city’s boys team because there were no teams for girls — something officials have since promised to change. The commercial ends with the line: “it seems crazy until you do it.”“This is a big victory because we’re going through a difficult time in Argentina”
Teresa Suárez stands in a soccer field across the street from her house, in San Fernando, Argentina. Suarez was a defender on the first women’s team to represent Argentina in a World Cup, in 1971, in Mexico. (Natalie Alcoba for VICE News)