It’s 2013, and an 8 year old girl approaches her dad, who’s fully invested in a sports match. It’s a soccer game; she can tell by the type of ball being skillfully passed around, the familiar goal nets on both sides of the bright green field, and 22 men in brightly colored jerseys.
That moment marked a beginning for me—now 18—of becoming a soccer fan. Although I had an awakening toward the sport at age 8, it wasn’t until the World Cup during the summer of 2018 when I really started getting into it.Â
I remember supporting the rapidly rising France national team as they made it to the final for a second consecutive World Cup. France won 4-2 against Croatia, a team I still consider underdogs among the soccer powerhouses.
So much has changed since then. For example, Antoine Griezmann, a powerful attacking midfielder, recently announced his retirement from the French national team. During the 2018 World Cup, Kylian Mbappé—now one of the world’s most valuable players, was only three years into his professional career. Today, he’s a global star, making headlines by signing with Real Madrid, a decision that sent shockwaves through Spain’s prestigious La Liga. Mbappé further proved his dedication to competitive soccer when he rejected a $1.1 billion deal from Saudi Arabian club “Al Hilal”, showing the world that not all footballers are “all about the money”. Additionally, Paul Pogba, a central midfielder for Equipe de France, was banned from soccer for 4 years due to doping allegations. This year, it was announced that his ban had been reduced to 18 months (which is awarded if an athlete can prove the doping was unintentional or a result of contamination with the test results), and he is set to start on the pitch soon. You can only imagine how excited fans are to see the legend back.
Soccer is about so much more than just 22 men running across a grassy field. Teams rise and fall, coaches change, fans eagerly anticipate new transfers and the sport’s top talents display their skills for a global audience.
I felt drawn to the world of watching soccer through my dad. I followed in his footsteps, supporting the same English team as him — Chelsea. I love France, learning French and the French national soccer team, but it was inevitable that I would root for the Blues in the Premier League, as I grew up hearing his unwavering support for the team.
Most of what I know about soccer, I learned from my dad. He always patiently answered my simplest questions, from “Why did that player get a yellow card?” to “What’s the offside rule?” He never seemed bothered, and I could tell he was proud to have at least one of his four daughters become a soccer fan like him.
Unfortunately, that isn’t the case in the outside world.
At 16, I decided I wanted to connect with like-minded soccer fans and join a community. I started by reposting Instagram posts on my story from Chelsea’s official page after their successful matches, showing my support to friends on social media.Â
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But after a few reposts, I encountered unexpected negativity. A random guy from school had swiped up on my story and messaged, “What do you know about soccer?”. Soon, most of the guys I interacted with would look at me with prejudice, some trying to embarrass me with trivia questions about my team, such as: “How many times has Chelsea won the Champions League?” or “How many goals did so-and-so score last season?”
While this isn’t true of everyone, there are still men who,even today, believe a girl can’t be knowledgeable about soccer. Once, I was criticized just for calling the sport “soccer”, instead of “football”, with some assuming I must be another clueless American supporter — and a woman, no less.
Yet, many people who mock Americans for calling it “soccer”, haven’t done their research. An article written by Billy Perrigo is my favorite source to refer people to regarding this debate: “Why Do Americans Call It Soccer Instead of Football? Blame England.” England, the birthplace of soccer, originally called the sport “soccer” before the term “football” took over globally. You can’t blame the rest of the world for adjusting to “football”, but it’s funny how history gets overlooked.Overall, my efforts to find a welcoming soccer community haven’t gone well. Last year, I joined an online group called “Global Football”, which was unsurprisingly male-dominated. I still wonder how miserable some of the men in that group were, as they told me to “go back to the kitchen” within minutes of joining. I left it immediately.I often think, there must be hundreds, if not thousands of girls out there like me, seeking a welcoming community in the soccer world. It’s difficult to navigate the unnecessary discrimination. But if it takes proving yourself, so be it. Let people think what they want. Those low expectations are easy to surpass, and nothing beats the confidence boost from proving someone wrong in their sexist assumptions.It’s disappointing to experience these micro-aggressions, especially after growing up feeling the energy of a strong and passionate soccer fan base, be it on television, or in the stands. But I truly believe that as women continue to uplift other women in soccer, we’ll eventually find unity in the sport we love.