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Brian Uribe
Professor Bieber
English 115 Honors
20 October 2015
Women on the Field
Nearly 23 million Americans watched on as their Womans National Team won their
third World Cup; however the National Womens Soccer League received just above 2% of that
for attendance for the entirety of that years season. With the National League struggling to
maintain a following, why dont Americans support their domestic league? They couldnt be
bothered. Women who play soccer are treated differently in all aspects than the men. The sport
becomes lethargic, players turn docile and nobody bats an eye. Although the womens soccer
team competes on an international level, double standards regarding athletes within this country
will prevent women from reaching their full potential. Improper management and officiating
often stagnates competitive play, female athletes do not receive the same media attention
resulting in less sponsorships and endorsements, and females are often eclipsed by their male
counterparts.
Soccer has an international governing body, Federation Internationale de Football
Association, commonly known as FIFA. Much like the United Nations, there is a board that
discusses issues and nations comply with rules established at meetings. However unlike the UN,
FIFA is not held liable for neutral use of resources and it highlighted discrepancies in the rewards
for competing at the highest international level, For their win, the U.S. team will earn $2
million. By comparison, Germany received $35 million in 2014 after winning the Mens World

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Cup Final in Brazil. And the U.S. Mens team won $8 million after losing in Round 16.
(Shalby). Understandably the men had more resources allocated since the tournament is
perceived as the highest regarding sports and received more income so there should be a
difference in reward. The disparity is how much resources FIFA allocated to the genders. While
men had continental qualifiers and friendlies four years in advance, the women are not given
nearly as much time into playing with their nation's side and it creates a lack of cohesion on the
field. So not only are international teams handicapped from the lack of time together, they play
under circumstances that the male counterparts would have never agreed to. This time women
played on an artificial field. While the world would go under hysteria if Messi couldn't get a
game in the international side for a year or if Cristiano Ronaldo missed an
elimination round through turf burn, the women accept those conditions because beggars can't be
choosers. While women face obstacles through their organization, they face adversity in the
form of officials.
A referee's duty is to hold players to the standards of a sport. In soccer only one referee is
given the discretion of play. The official can stop play and give possession to a team. When
people wonder why womans play is so lethargic and passive, it comes down to the ref. A study
was conducted with 26 teams of either gender committing the same fouls and the findings
indicated a significant effect of gender on instrumental aggression and referees decisions related
to these behaviors, relative to the total number of aggressive acts displayed, referees penalized
women more than men (Coulomb). So when a guy committees to an action its fair play because
men are aggressive, but when a woman does it she is out of character? Athletes are putting
everything onto the field, so why cant refs decide what was in context and wave play on? As a
result women are conditioned to play passively to keep play live which makes the game less

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organic and slower. Soccer isnt meant as a limited contact sport, watching games between
genders, someone would think there were complex rules for the women but in fact there are not.
Soccer is about putting the ball in the back of the net within boundaries, thats it. Referees are to
keep players from hurting one another, not for rationalizing that women cant make a challenge
because its not something that they do then its up to media to portray whatever image is
perceived.
Networks, like SKY and FOX, buy the rights to show exclusive coverage of games. Then
people keep updated on teams and matches through social media which will post highlights and
behind the scenes. On match days there will be some sort of coverage on a game and people have
the chance to show their interest. The problem is that until recently women were not covered
under a network, but even now the coverage is shoddy and sporadic in quality. They [men] have
higher production values, higher-quality coverage, and higher-quality commentary... When you
watch womens sports, and there are fewer camera angles, fewer cuts to shot, fewer instant
replays, yeah, its going to seem to be a slower game, [and] its going to seem to be less
exciting. (Cooky). Even after a game women are not followed up after like men are with
interviews. The media is always seeking what the male soccer players are doing and you hardly
updated on what the female players life. On the slight chance women were being broadcasted,
the coverage was unappealing so whats stopping the viewer from skipping channels? Why
should the viewer invest himself when the game isnt interesting? How can someone awe at a
goal or changing point in a game when it wasnt even recorded in the first place? When media
fails to capture key events in a game, they fail to retain an audience. Women are not given the
opportunity to display their qualities and its not even their fault.

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With women having to comply with game-changing officiating and less media attention,
it seems they are destined for failure. There is nothing in the immediate future that suggests a
sudden surge of interest or change in the sport. If the nations league was restricted and followed
that of Europeans and worked together with media giants and began providing incentives for
females to adopt the sport then the idea of a strong womens league could be fathomable. Unless
the nation were to abstain from selective investment and become more active with womens
soccer as a whole, then gender equality in entertainment will seem more attainable.

Works Cited
Cooky, Cheryl. ""It's Dude Time!"" Invited Article Sage Publications, 05 June 2015. Web. 20
Oct. 2015.
Coulomb-Cabagno, Genevive, Olivier Rascle, and Nicolas Souchon. "Players Gender and
Male Referees Decisions About Aggression in French Soccer: A Preliminary
Study." Sex Roles, 52.7 (2005): 547-553.
Shalby, Colleen. "U.S. Women's Soccer Team Gets $2 Million for World Cup Win; German
Men Got $35 Million in 2014." PBS. PBS, 06 July 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015