Fifa urged to end ‘discrimination’ in approach to women’s futsal
United stance: futsal stars Amandinha (Brazil), Ana Catarina (Portugal), Mio Fujita (Japan), Fereshteh Karimi (Iran), Arianna Pomposelli (Italy), Carina Núñez (Argentina) and Anita Luján (Spain) are making their voices heard Image: Fernando Salas/@blue.panther23
THE WORLD’S most prominent female futsal players have called on Fifa to end its “deeply discriminatory” approach to the women’s game by launching a World Cup to bring parity with the men’s Fifa-sanctioned small-sided game.
In a letter sent to the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino – seen by the Guardian – the players demand an end to their “marginalisation” and urge the governing body to make a women’s event a priority amid booming popularity of the indoor five-a-side sport played globally by an estimated 60 million people.
Citing “deep concern” over “mistreatment and public neglect” of the sport, the letter calls Fifa’s refusal to sanction a women’s tournament “deeply discriminatory” and says it “violates gender equality”.
The plea comes on the weekend the ninth edition of the men’s futsal World Cup kicks off in Lithuania, with the 2016 champions, Argentina, five-times winners Brazil and double-champions Spain among the favourites.
“We are being discriminated against,” said Natalia Orive, a Spanish first division player and president of the Spanish Women’s Futsal Association. “That’s the key. I don’t want to use the word discrimination to be a victim. It’s because it’s the reality.
“It’s very unfair,” Orive, who wrote the letter, told the Guardian. “It’s called marginada [marginalised] in Spain. Why is it happening? They have no answer. But it also goes against their own rules and ethical principles of governance. In [the Fifa strategy for women’s football] 2018, they talked about equality, being inclusive, with men and women no different. But they forget about futsal. With no explanation.”
A Fifa spokesperson said it was examining “the landscape of women’s football competitions – which cover all disciplines including futsal”.
Click here to read the full story in the Guardian
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RICARDINHO’S PORTUGAL won the futsal World Cup. And after seeing Jorge Braz’s men up close in Lithuania, I offer my conclusions on how the seleção fulfilled Braz’s promise of a brighter “tomorrow” and wrote a new chapter in the stirring history of Portuguese futsal.