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Another year, another Golden Globes. Once again, voices within the women’s football community find themselves echoing the frustrations of the past.
Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatti won the main prize again, but the prestigious event, which should celebrate the pinnacle of footballing achievements, remains mired in a worrying history of disrespect for the women’s game. Instead of progress, it’s as if the party is trapped in a cycle that undermines the extraordinary talent and dedication of female athletes.
When Ada Hegerberg of Lyon won the inaugural award in 2018, she was asked if she could do a dance on stage by French DJ Martin Solveig, a moment publicly criticized by tennis star Andy Murray, among others. In 2023, when Ponmatti won, tennis player Novak Djokovic – known for his opposition to equal pay in sport – was chosen to present the award. It was a slap in the face to those who support women’s sports when someone was there king To participate from the world of tennis, options such as Murray or Billie Jean King could have been considered.
This year, actress Natalie Portman, one of several owners of the NWSL’s Angel City, presented Bunmati with her second Golden Ball. Perhaps these are small steps to create a somewhat more inclusive and equal base, given how championing the sport is, but men’s winners are often handed their awards by footballing legends – George Weah introduced Rodri, for example – which suggests a serious lack of effort. By the organizers.
And if you look at the concert schedule, the disrespect gets worse.
Since the introduction of the Women’s Ballon d’Or category in 2018, the event has been consistently scheduled during the women’s international break – often a day before crucial qualifiers or long-planned friendlies.
England’s Georgia Stanway – who finished 23rd last year and was not nominated this season – highlighted the mistake when only a few nominees were able to attend in October 2023. “Yes, it’s really (frustrating) because it’s potentially a one-off event. “An opportunity of a lifetime,” she said. “You never know if you’ll be chosen for an award like this again, so it will be really nice to enjoy the experience and be there and feel like you’re a star among the stars. If it goes a little bit more planning it would better be easier for a lot of female footballers.” Being there.”
This year, England coach Sarina Wigman was nominated for Women’s Coach of the Year, but was unable to attend in person. “Of course it’s really disappointing, because this is a moment to celebrate women’s football and come together as a whole community in women’s football and the whole world of football,” she said in a press conference on Monday ahead of the friendly match against Southampton on Tuesday. Africa. “You want to be there, but we have work to do, and we’re here. It would be really helpful if this (ceremony) could be planned for another date.”
Former Chelsea manager Emma Hayes won Coach of the Year – building on her fifth successive Women’s Super League title, before leading the US Women’s National Team to Olympic gold just three months into her tenure – but Hayes and five American nominees They couldn’t do that. Don’t attend the party either.
Only a few of the 30 shortlisted players were actually present, including Barcelona’s Bonmatti, Caroline Graham-Hansen, Salma Baralloelo, Alexia Putellas, and Tigres UANL’s Jenny Hermoso (who won the Socrates Award for Humanitarian Action; more on that later ), and Arsenal player. Mariona Caldente. This was a shocking extent to the representatives of women’s football.
If there are no men’s nominees for the Ballon d’Or due to scheduling conflicts, there will be a huge uproar. So why is it acceptable for the women’s game? Who is responsible for this oversight? Who will step forward and correct the matter? Every year the theme comes up…but nothing changes.
Although the event is intended to celebrate achievements in men’s and women’s soccer, the women’s game often feels like an afterthought. As former candidate Beth Mead said last year: “It was a check mark for women to be there, but they didn’t do it right.”
The first women’s Ballon d’Or was awarded 62 years after the men’s award, which began in 1956 at a time when women’s football was still banned in many places. But even when it was submitted, the list of nominees was limited to 20 names, as opposed to the 30 names for men. It took until the 2023 edition to correct this discrepancy. But others are still there.
In the men’s award, there is the Copa Cup for Best Young Players and the Yashin Cup for Best Goalkeeper, but there are no equivalent awards for women. Some claim that the talent pool in women’s football is smaller at the highest levels, but this seems like a weak excuse given the rapid growth the sport has seen in recent years.
Notably, the Copa Cup was only introduced for men in 2018 and the Yashin Cup in 2019. If similar awards for women follow the same pace, we may not see a Copa or Yashin Cup winner for women until 2080.
Then we have the blatant laziness and disparagement of female candidates on official social media accounts. Months ago, when players were first announced, it was random and full of errors. For example, Caldente is listed as representing Chelsea, even though she signed for Arsenal earlier in the season.
Then, during the ceremony, each of the players ranked from 30 to 10 received an individual entry celebrating their achievements through highlight videos. For women, these candidates were posted together in groups of five, with only their names and ages displayed – no nationality, club, statistics or accolades.
The presentation of the Women’s Club of the Year award, which celebrated Barcelona’s historic quadruple that included a second successive Champions League title, was another bone of contention. Instead of focusing on the women’s team’s achievements, broadcaster Didier Drogba turned attention to the men’s team and their 4-0 win at the weekend. Classic The win over Real Madrid prompted Barcelona president Joan Laporta to praise men’s coach Hansi Flick.
It was a tremendous opportunity for both club representatives and presenters to sing about the exceptional success of the Barcelona Women’s Team. Instead, their accomplishments were overshadowed by needless remarks about the men’s team. Praising the men’s team while accepting an award meant to honor the women’s team was tone-deaf and only reinforces the apparent disrespect.
Finally, we have the Socrates Award, which was introduced in 2022 and is awarded to a footballer for his humanitarian work. This year the award was given to Spanish striker Hermoso for her stance against sexual violence and fighting inequality against women after Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales forcibly kissed her on the lips, without her consent, during the medal ceremony following her 2023 World Cup win.
Rubiales resigned and was banned by FIFA for three years, but it was ironic for Hermoso to receive an award for his fight for women’s equality at a ceremony that still highlights glaring gender inequality. When she was honored, the party hosts had to give a standing ovation because even though the women in the room had already risen, the men did not follow her.
Organizations often want to be seen as helping issues facing women’s football but fail to address or correct systemic inequalities. While the Ballon d’Or has made some minor improvements, it still falls short and does no more than the bare minimum to promote women’s football.
Year after year, the same critical issues arise, but the promise of tangible progress has yet to be fulfilled. The time for superficial gestures is over; It is time for the Ballon d’Or to fully respect the amazing achievements of women’s football.
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