Opinion – Marina Izidro: Fathers and mothers, take your daughters to play soccer

“Why didn’t I play soccer when I was a kid?”

I asked my parents the question this week and their answer was exactly what I imagined. I didn’t learn to play because, even if they wanted to look for a girls’ soccer school, they wouldn’t find one.

And look, my father and mother always encouraged me to practice physical activity, were largely responsible for my love of sports and gave me the freedom to try whatever I wanted. I did swimming, ballet, rhythmic gymnastics, jazz, synchronized swimming, volleyball, beach volleyball, handball, surfing, capoeira, tennis. Football was never on the list. And that’s not a surprise. Those were other times.

In my childhood in Rio de Janeiro, in the 1980s and early 1990s, it was not a popular sport for girls where I grew up. It was little practiced and viewed with some discrimination. The matches were not shown on television, Marta was not yet a reference, the schools at the time only had teams for boys. At school, they, of course, played. We, no way. It was volleyball or handball.

As a teenager, I went to Maracanã with friends and followed the championships, always the men’s. I still didn’t see the popularity of the women’s game actually changing. I graduated in journalism and working with soccer became my routine, but I only learned to play (still bad) as an adult. And I loved it.

I am happy to see how this scenario is changing in the current generation. In England, girls’ soccer lessons are commonplace. They are encouraged to play, without any kind of prejudice. Friends who live in Brazil and have children or teenagers tell me that if they want to learn soccer, it’s not difficult to find a school.

This year, I went to Arsenal’s stadium to watch a match in the Women’s Super League, the first English women’s division. Arsenal Women faced the current champions, the Chelsea Women team, and the audience experience was very similar to that of a Premier League game and with tickets at a much more affordable price: uniformed fans in the subway on their way to the stadium, store official club open and where you could buy their official uniforms, full bars, assigned seats.

Whoever it was, was not disappointed. It was five goals and Arsenal won 3-2. Nine thousand people cheered and sang in the stands on a Sunday afternoon – far from the packed stadiums as in the men’s league, but a breakthrough. The best part was seeing that among the thousands of spectators there were parents who took their children to see a women’s game, a scene unfortunately still unthinkable in some countries.

Even in England, where there is investment, there are points to evolve. But there is a path being traced to increase people’s interest, further popularize the practice and promote the sport.

In Brazil, I see more and more girls skating (perhaps it is also an effect of the success of the Tokyo Olympics) and playing soccer, but there is still a lack of a change in mentality in parts of society. The more teachers and managers create classes for women and make the environment of schools and clubs welcoming for them to participate, the more the sport grows and becomes inclusive.

Parents, how about taking your daughters to learn? Rest assured: they will enjoy it. And a ball is always a nice Christmas gift.