Women’s football in Argentina continues with its fight for equality

Women’s football began to be practiced more than 130 years ago. It has a long history, but its development was irregular, especially due to gender discrimination. Discrimination that even today, in the 21st century, continues to happen.

In Argentina, women’s soccer began to be played by women in 1920. From that date until today, women had to fight against various cultural and institutional prejudices. Only in 2019 was a “professionalization” of women’s soccer reached (for me it is a semi-professionalization since there are still many things to improve).

Argentina has 3 women’s soccer divisions. In Primer A there are 20 teams, where the last champion is Boca Juniors. There is also the First Division B, with 22 teams, and the First Division C with 27 clubs. Since its professionalization, women’s soccer has undergone many changes. Most of the first-division players have a contract that allows them to have an extra income to live on, but the reality is that they still cannot live only from soccer. Very different from what happens in the masculine since the figures of their contracts are 300% more than that of women.

Currently, the League Cup is being played where there are two zones, A and B, with 10 teams in both. The first four of each zone qualify for the playoffs, where they will face each other to see who is the new champion.

The Argentina Women’s Soccer Team also has its struggles. The realities are very different from the men’s, who is the current world champion. The women’s team had its fourth participation in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this year. Unfortunately, they were knocked out in the first round and still unable to win a match in this FIFA tournament. They continue to ask for more support and help so that football can continue to grow. However, interest in women’s soccer in Argentina is still low with little investment in the discipline.