阿根廷女足球运动员与性别歧视、不平等作斗争

Argentina's Female Soccer Players Fight Sexism, Inequality

Almost 90 years after men’s soccer turned professional in Argentina, the women’s game is still played by amateurs¹. They make little or no money for their work on the field.

Macarena Sanchez wants to change that — now.

The 27-year-old soccer player is taking legal action against her club and the Argentine Football Association, which governs the sport in the country. Her aim is for women to be recognized – and paid – as professional players.

Argentina is home to some of the world’s greatest players. But the sport there is still largely seen as a men’s only game.

Sanchez told The Associated Press (AP), “The goal is to be recognized as a professional soccer player, so it can open the doors for other women to enjoy the benefits of earning a living from what we love.”

Sanchez’s interest in soccer came early. At just five years old she began watching her father play with friends in Santa Fe. The province is the birthplace of famous players like Lionel Messi, Gabriel Batistuta and Jorge Valdano.

With her father’s support, Sanchez worked on her own skills at a local club. She improved year by year.

Then, after a friendly game in Buenos Aires in 2012, the coach of UAI Urquiza asked Sanchez to join his club. UAI Urquiza is considered one of the best soccer clubs in South America.

“That year, we won the Argentine championship for the first time in the club’s history,” she said. “And then we won the championship three more times.”

Sanchez also competed in three Copa Libertadores tournaments, the main women’s event in South America.

Sanchez received a small amount of money as a player for UAI Urquiza. She also worked an administrative³ job for the club.

But last month, Sanchez got an unexpected call from her coach. He said she was being dismissed from the club because of a “soccer-related decision.”

He gave her no other explanation.

Sanchez got the call in the middle of the soccer season. So, she was not able to join another club.

She says she spoke⁴ about the situation to her sister, a lawyer. After, Sanchez decided⁵ to launch her legal action. She is seeking money and the professionalization of women’s soccer.

Officials at UAI Urquiza did not give a comment to the AP. And the temporary head of the Argentine federation’s women’s soccer committee could not immediately be reached.

But Sanchez has received strong support from FIFPro, an international organization that represents professional soccer players around the world.

FIFPro said in a statement, “It’s unacceptable for soccer clubs and national soccer federations⁶ in South America, or anywhere else, to treat women players as second-class citizens…”

Even members of Argentina's national women’s team struggle financially. And a woman player at a top club is usually forced to split⁷ her time between soccer and a second job to survive.

“There is no possibility, no matter how good a woman is in Argentina today, to make a living from it,” said Brenda Elsey, a professor at Hofstra University in New York. She is an expert on the history of soccer politics in Latin America. “Argentina is not an exception to the rule of gender⁸ discrimination in Latin America,” Elsey said.

In neighboring Chile, women’s soccer is also amateur². Coaches have protested that men’s clubs with female teams sometimes will not provide them with fields to hold practice.

Many top female players from Argentina head to the United States to play in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), where they can earn a living. Brazil, Mexico and Colombia all also have professional women’s leagues.

A group of women known as the Pioneers of Argentine Female Soccer recently met at a field in Buenos Aires. They kicked the ball around and shared memories about the difficulties they faced while playing the sport they love.

“Some people would shout at us to go wash dishes,” said former soccer player Elba Selva. She scored four goals in Argentina’s 4-1 victory over England at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City during the 1971 World Cup. “We’re so proud to be a part of this now,” she said.

Former goalkeeper Lucila Sandoval founded the group to try to keep the stories of Argentine women’s soccer alive.

“For us, who are no longer in the field, and who played with so much love, so much passion for the sport, we want to leave a legacy⁹ for these girls as they’re fighting for professionalism,” she said. “What Maca Sanchez has done is the kickoff in a struggle that has been waging for a long time.”

I’m Caty Weaver¹⁰.

And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

amateur - n. a person who does something (such as a sport or hobby) for pleasure and not as a job

club - n. a sports team or organization

tournament - n. a sports competition or series of contests that involves many players or teams and that usually continues for at least several days

benefit - n. a good or helpful result or effect

gender - n. the state of being male or female

league - n. a group of sports teams that play against each other

passion - n. a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something

legacy - n. something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past

1 amateurs   

n.业余爱好者( amateur的名词复数 )；外行，生手

参考例句：

• The tournament is open to both amateurs and professionals. 这次锦标赛业余选手和职业选手均可参加。
• The boss kissed the other performers off as mere amateurs. 老板认为其他的演员只有业余水平而把他们打发掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 amateur   

adj.业余的，非专业的；n.业余爱好者

参考例句：

• He made an amateur attempt to build a cupboard.他很外行地试做了一个碗柜。
• Although Tom's only an amateur he's a first-class player.虽然汤姆只是个业余爱好者，但却是一流的高手。

3 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 federations   

n.联邦( federation的名词复数 )；同盟；联盟；联合会

参考例句：

• These problems are women's special problems and special work of women's federations. 这样的问题，就是妇女的特殊问题，就是妇联的特殊工作。 来自互联网
• The Bridge Federate is a feasible solution to achieve multi-federations interconnection. 基于桥接成员实现多联邦互连是目前较为通用和可行的方法。 来自互联网

7 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

9 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

10 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。