Breaking stereotypes at the end of goals

What would happen if the passion of his life was hidden behind macho prejudices? What if his dream was to run after a ball all day while society represses him for fantasizing games for "boys"?

Imagine that your own inner circle censures that source of happiness. Now think that for many women that taboo fountain of joy is called soccer.

In Cuenca, the space for women in the king of sports is just opening up; but there are people who still look with bad eyes that the feminine gender begins to dominate the ball.

In the city it is not strange to hear phrases like "women's soccer is boring" or "they do not even know how to play well". There is still a macho thought on the part of some, who believe that football should be a kind of gentlemen's club that women should not have access to.

Against this retrograde ideology, people who support female participation in football have been fighting for years. With teams such as Carneras and the women's branch of Deportivo Cuenca, the women have put on their shoes, ready to win a space on the courts in the city.

And little by little they are achieving it; more women are seen gathering among friends to play at night, there are more women training for championships, more and more girls are interested in football in schools.

The intercollegiate women have begun to gain relevance in the context Cuenca, and schools try to develop this branch of football with increasing impetus. Schools like the Garaicoa, the CEDFI and now also the Asunción. Maybe a little late, but in Asunción women can finally seek goals in the same way that men do.

Until a few months ago, their game was played in a low voice and in a self-conscious way, but today the soccer players of the Asunción school begin to dribble in front of the eyes of their classmates, they throw passes so that the bar applauds them and they defend the colors of their institution with the same pride with which men do.

Before, for them to touch a ball was seen almost as a privilege or even as a contravention of the socially imposed. Now, each divided ball, each opportunity to touch the ball, is seen as the moment to shine, to come into contact with that previously repressed passion that has only just begun to emerge. For the girls of the Assumption, each goal is a cry of a struggle that has just begun.

In training everything is given

It is two thirty in the afternoon and the afternoon sun has settled on Cuenca. It's a hot Friday and there are no threats of rain nearby, a perfect day to play soccer. On the court, dozens of feet run behind a white ball with orange that seems to avoid at all costs the arcs of both teams.

There are many legs conglomerated in just a few square meters of the court, there are too many people trying to get possession of the ball. Kicks, dribbles, some fouls and in the background someone who seems removed from all the action. It happens so much on the ground that you no longer know where to look.

The artificial turf has begun to grab the heat from the sun, suffocating the feet of anyone who stands on the gramado, but that has not diminished the impetus with which the two teams seek the goal. Suddenly, after a series of infinite bounces, the ball filters through the tide of people and reaches unsuspecting feet that had moved away from the tumult. Now only the ball and the striker remain against the goal; a couple of steps to get closer to his goal, a shot made with the tip of his foot, an archer that remains petrified. Goal.

Afterwards, they celebrate all. Companions and rivals begin to share the laughter of the last moves, and the joy is evident in the faces already colored by the effort. What does the result matter if in the end they are all the same team? It is not the end of a championship, nor a friendly match, it is another training; but for the girls of the Asunción, every time they can play soccer is a new opportunity to smile and face machismo.

From the band, a man observes the whole game in silence. In his mind he could be plotting an 4-4-2 or an 4-2-3-1 for the upcoming championship. Diego Soliz, the coach of the Asunción women's team, is jovial and has a good relationship with his coaches. He took the reins of the team since the idea of ​​a selection of women began to form in school.

"Thanks to the innovation of the rector and the sports coordinator, we have been training for three months now. We have had a good reception, approximately 60 girls from the sub category 12 to the superior, which is the category of the last years of high school, "says Soliz.

She is happy for the work and progress she sees in her players day by day, and believes that the Asunción football project will continue to grow. Despite what some people may say, Soliz believes that women's soccer in the Assumption begins to be established and to be seen with good eyes. "What we want is for more girls to follow the dream of playing football, that not only depends on men to give a joy to their school," he says.

While he talks, he does not lose sight of the training of the 14 sub category. On the court, the tumult of legs continues looking for the few seconds of glory when it comes into contact with the ball. The laughter continues, a murmur of happiness continues to take over the atmosphere. It is time for a break to drink water, and the girls leave the court.

"Here we can show that football is not only for men, but also women can play it," says Angie Calle, 14 soccer player of the Asunción team. "The team is like our family," she says, anxiously watching her playmates return to the court; Calle also wants to return to the game quickly.

 “There will always be people who think that football is only for boys. Men from the men's team of the school pointed out to us, they said we were not capable, ”says Michelle Monroy, a companion of Calle, with some disbelief in her voice. He knows that the team has to fight against these prejudices every day, but he feels that nothing is going to stop his football spirit. “Little by little we want to show that we can, that women can play this sport equally well. Little by little we will win the fight, ”he says with determination.

The girls return to the court, there is still half an hour of training under the sun that gives no respite. They show fatigue, but the desire to play can be more. The white ball with orange rolls again while the multitude of legs returns to look for it like a treasure. Diego returns to the band, to observe his team in silence while drawing the sketch of a starting lineup.

Follow the cheerful murmurs and generalized celebrations in each goal. From this field, the women's team of the Asuncion hopes to start building the path of a champion team. Afternoon, but finally football is for everyone, and these girls plan to take advantage of it.