Champions:
1st place: United States; 2nd place: Holland; 3rd place: Sweden
Queens of the Audience
One day the men in suits will understand
The World Cup in France has already paid off the women's global fight for equity. FIFA endorsed some of the category's claims, pressuring local federations for changes. The scenario became more favorable, it broke barriers to increase the popularity of women's football, professionalize players, increase the presence of professional women in technical teams and on television broadcasts. In Brazil, SporTV broadcast 96% of the competition live, with female narrators and commentators and a growing audience with each game.Around the world, the event reached historic heights: it was the spectators' Cup.
The Brazilian team fell in the round of 16 against the French hosts in an unforgettable battle, but the modality came out strengthened. That same year, CONMEBOL began to demand that clubs participating in its championships maintain female teams – something unprecedented. The Holland reached a Cup final for the first time, and it was against the victorious US team. The result, in turn, was the most predictable, with the US team taking another cup home after a 2-0 victory.
BOX
One of the best players in the world, Norwegian Ada Hegerberg, has refused to play for her country's national team since 2018. The denial was a protest against the inferior remuneration and conditions given to women's football by the Norwegian federation. The flag, created by artists Will Bindley and Eugene Noble, turned a quote from the player into a fight icon: “one day the men in suits will understand”. The work was produced on the occasion of the French Cup for the National Football Museum, in England. The fight is still far from over.
History:
Formiga
The 2019 edition was the seventh Cup contested by Formiga, or simply Fu, as she is affectionately called by her teammates. No other athlete, regardless of gender, has achieved such constancy and longevity in the national team. At the age of 41, she participated in her last Cup with a performance in her style: running and battling for every ball. The soteropolitan defensive midfielder is unanimity when the subject is cooperation — a value that dialogues with the culture of capoeira (Brazilian fight) of which she is also a practitioner. From her hard-working spirit, great physical strength and persistence came her teenage nickname, Formiga, which she didn't like, but which she ended up adopting. She made football history with her humility and group conscience – the admirable kind of strength that observing nature also inspires.
Curiosities:
– Reggae Girlz: the Jamaican team debuted in the tournament with financial help from Cedella Marley, daughter of Bob Marley.
– VAR is used for the first time.
Highlight:
Megan Rapinoe (USA) (technical and political)
Subtitles
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Team photo
Standing, from left to right: Bárbara, Cristiane, Kathellen, Mônica, Formiga and Ludmila. Crouched: Thaísa, Debinha, Letícia Santos, Marta and Tamires.
2. Rapinoe
The fight for equity comes to Justice
Megan Rapinoe was the captain of the American team, best player and top scorer of the tournament, with six goals. She is also a key figure in the fight for equity in the sport and often takes a political stand against conservative views in her country.
In the same year she won the Cup, the United States team filed a lawsuit against the North American football federation. The complaint was the disparity in salaries between the women's and men's selection of the modality. Megan Rapinoe was the great spokesperson for the athletes in this dispute, which began with a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission of the United States, which invoked the US Constitution itself to denounce non-compliance. After much battle, in 2022 the women's national team and the federation announced the closing of an agreement that promises equal wages for all athletes in the sport, regardless of gender. In addition, female athletes will receive payment of compensation for financial losses suffered in previous years. They won!
TV: Megan Rapinoe's highlights from the 2019 World Cup.
Tablet: Speeches at the United States women's World Cup title party in New York and at FIFA The Best award when she was elected the best player in the world.
3. Marta
Marta celebrates by pointing out her shoe: in it, she gave up on possible sponsors and used the symbol of the fight for gender equality.