“Soccer players are more assertive and committed”

As an appetizer of International Women’s Daythe book ‘I also want to play football’by the journalist Mayca Jiménez, who leads the women’s football section in ASwas presented this Tuesday in The Book House on Gran Vía in Madrid. The work, which contains illustrations by Alicia Cabloblanco, tells the stories of 40 women, diverse and demanding, who changed the history of football worldwide. with the company of Amelia del Castillofirst president of a football club in Spain, and Willy Romeroformer player of Betis or Barça, among others, Mayca Jiménez closed the presentation with the desire to advance “together towards equality”.

Congratulations on the publication of this book. Do you think that the mere fact that it is published is further proof that society is advancing?

Yes. Literature, like society in general, owes a debt to female athletes and it is a great advance that publishers are starting to publish works dedicated to them.

How did the idea of ​​doing the work come about?

The idea arose after discovering that there were a large number of success stories in women’s football. These years I have heard incredible stories of players who have broken down barriers of all kinds and whose lives had been made invisible for a long time.

What is the purpose of telling these 40 stories?

The objective is to cover that need to give visibility to soccer leaders and that their stories reach girls or adolescents who dream of playing this sport. The fact of having references is decisive for them to really see themselves capable of fulfilling their dream.

What has it been like working on this exercise in the genealogy of women’s football? Have you enjoyed it?

Very much. It has been amazing. I admire each of these 40 women and it has been an honor to tell their stories.

Have you ever imagined writing a book like this?

Never. Since I was a child, I have always loved soccer, but I was embarrassed to ask the children to let me play. Those were times when they called you a tomboy and when no one told you that women could play football. On the contrary… Starting from there, I could never have imagined that years later she would write a book that talked about women in football. Is incredible.

In addition, the person in charge of the illustrations is also a woman, have you taken care of this aspect to show that women are already present everywhere?

I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but it is one more example that women are there and, as you say, we work as professionals in any field.

In some way, you carry out an exercise in presenting role models for today’s girls and young women. Have you ever felt that responsibility during the process?

Yes. Although I think it is everyone’s responsibility. From journalism and literature to families and society itself. Girls must be given the same opportunities as boys. And that means putting as many references within their reach as for them.

In the book there are many stories of overcoming, are you able to stay with any?

It would cost me a lot. Perhaps because of the closeness with which I have lived it, I would prefer the story of Virginia Torrecilla. Knowing more about her personally it was very emotional to talk about her.

Poverty, exclusion, homosexuality, race, gender… Diversity surrounds these women’s football stories. Do you think such a book would be possible with male protagonists?

I imagine so, but what is true is that they are generally more assertive and committed to injustice. It may be because, at the very least, they have had to overcome the barrier of machismo and, for that reason, they have that spirit of resilience.

On such an important date for women as March 8, what would you like to see change (in the search for equality, I mean) for female soccer players now and in the future?

I would like to be given the same professional treatment as them. And not only at the level of resources, but also from the media and society. There are many people who still look at them suspiciously and even attack them for the mere fact of playing football.