By Pauline Londeix, researcher and writer
If there is one person who can be said to be “friends with the ball”, it is Manuela Giugliano, the first Italian football player to appear on the list of nominees for the Ballon d’Or. An open foot and a strong shot to the left, that’s it, the 27-year-old Italian’s Women’s Champions League is launched with this goal from the penalty spot, the result of a hand fault by the Dutchwoman from Wolfsburg Lynn Wilms in the Roman surface. On October 8, during the first day of the group stage, AS Roma, two Italian championships to its credit, faced Wolfsburg, the fourth most successful team in the competition, of the German Alexandra Popp, she -even three Champions Leagues and seven German championships to his name. Roma won by the narrowest of margins (1-0), but the match was difficult, on a wet pitch, which did not prevent the young 17-year-old Italian prodigy Giulia Dragoni, on loan this season by FC Barcelona, to offer us some very high level breakthroughs or even Giada Greggi to make killer passes behind the German defense. On his wing, Roma’s new full-back, the Dane Frederikke Thøgersen, made a strong impression. A first day of the Champions League at the level of expectations placed on these two teams, who will soon face Olympique Lyonnais, eight Champions Leagues on the clock. For its part, Juventus won in Norway. In September, they qualified for the Champions League in a play-off against Paris Saint-Germain. Despite the investments made, PSG will therefore not compete in the biggest competition – an indicator of a women’s team far from being a priority in the Parisian project. The next few days will provide valuable indications on who will win the Champions League this season.
But why detail all this here? Because you probably won’t read it anywhere else. Women’s football does not have the storytelling it deserves and which would offer its less expert spectators a reading grid allowing them to understand the issues. And this is the very illustration of the inequalities that persist between men’s and women’s football. As in the arts, cinema, literature, sciences, and in all sectors of society, women are less valued, their exploits, talents or successes less told. Those who deride women’s football by believing that it is less interesting technically and tactically have essentialized the consequence of inequalities. Of course, if the resources devoted to its development are not sufficient, the spectacle deployed will not be able to measure up. The issue of professionalization is therefore not just a question of salary, it is also a question of access to the means to train to perform. And this should be obvious, but it seems worth remembering: women footballers are not less talented, they are simply less visible. By continuing to infuse men’s football, most often at a loss, with money for its diffusion and development, we therefore perpetuate a myth, one that it would effortlessly and single-handedly generate enthusiasm and financial income. This myth is also largely maintained by uninterrupted storytelling. Women’s football, for its part – and women’s sport in general – deserves radically different media treatment.
