"Conceptional Shift" Spain Removes The Word "Woman" From National Team

By removing the phrase "women's soccer” from the name of the national team, the Spanish Football Federation hopes to show it has made a “conceptual shift” in its view of the sport. It’s yet to be seen if more countries follow suit.

Spain made the move towards achieving greater equality this week as a part of an agreement between the governing body and its World Cup-winning team.

Spain Removes The Word Woman From National Team

The name for the women’s teams traditionally included the Spanish phrase “de fútbol femenino,” which translated to “women’s soccer.” Going forward, both the men’s and women’s national football teams will be officially known as “Selección Española de Fútbol," which translates to “Span’s National Soccer Team.”

The federation’s interim president, Pedro Rocha, said that more than a symbolic change, the country hopes to represent a conceptional shift and recognise soccer as soccer, regardless of who is playing it.

The European Soccer Union’s governing body, UEFA, had previously held an informal discussion on how countries can handle such name issues, but no official proposal was made. Other countries, such as the United States, England, etc., continue to hold parity in the names by referring to them as “men’s” and “women’s” national teams.

Why The Parity In Sports?

With regard to our home base, India continues to refer to its national sports teams as “men’s” and “women’s” teams. This has always irked me. While we don’t say “men’s team” while referring to a sport, why do we have to use the phrase “women’s team”? Doesn’t this imply that men “own” sports while women are just being “allowed” to play them?

Unfortunately, we are still at a time when we have to advocate for the inclusion of women in sports, and it starts right at home. The majority of parents readily enrol their sons in sports classes and send their daughters to dance or singing classes. What if the children wanted to do it the other way around, or if the daughter too wanted to play sports? Why is that never considered by the majority of society?

Kerala Women's Team Compromised For Men's Team

While talking about this, I’m reminded of a recent incident that disturbed me. Earlier in June, the Kerala Women’s Football Team was shut down after the men’s football team was fined, leading to financial constraints. The men’s team was fined after they walked out during an Indian Super League playoff fixture last season.

The financial consequences of the men’s team have a direct impact on the women’s team, leading to its temporary shutdown. This is an example of the challenges faced by women’s sports teams as they are forced to compromise in times of crisis. This boils down to the typical patriarchal mindset that expects women to face the brunt of men’s mistakes.

Time For Change!

Personally, for the first 10 years of my life, I didn’t know the name of a single sportswoman but could name the entire men's Indian cricket team. I didn’t even know a female counterpart existed. I believe many of you reading this will be able to relate to me. When asked to name a sportsperson, how many of us would name a female player? How many of us watch women’s sports as much as we watch men’s sports? Isn't the way we talk and treat sports significant to the kind of image that we are ingraining in the minds of the younger generation?

Again, I’m forced to use the phrases “women’s sports and “men’s sports” throughout this article so that my point gets conveyed. But isn’t it concerning that, otherwise, reading this piece could possibly be confusing? When are sports going to be recognised just as sports without having a gender attached to them? What is it going to take for the world to recognise that women are equally talented and women’s sports are equally important?

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Views expressed by the author are their own