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Australian captain Sam Kerr helped lead the “Our Goal is Now” campaign for increased prize money at the FIFA Women‘s World Cup to men] because they’re on a bigger scale than me, they have more fans, are more popular. I believe the girls should be better paid but not the same as the men”. She simultaneously however professed her support for the USWNT, who receive less for arguably better work, based upon comparative suc- cess. However, before grappling with the intricacies of figures, Duggan was quick to revert to addressing amending the ba- sics as wished for by many: “Equality for me is having a pitch to play on and hot showers in the changing rooms, before we talk about the money we get.” In fact, the demands go far beyond monetary value. Hegerberg’s international hiatus remains indefinite despite the Norwegian Federation making headlines in 2017 by sign- ing a historic equal-pay agreement for their playing staff. “It’s about attitude and respect,” Hegerberg said. “We’re talking about young girls getting the same opportunity as boys - giv- ing them the same opportunity to dream.” A similar sentiment was shared by Rapinoe to The New York Times, declaring that the responsibility the team feels to advocate is “on behalf of our teammates, future teammates, fellow women athletes and women all around the world.” The issue with ignoring the minor details, as wishfully ex- pressed by Duggan, is that they reproduce inequalities and continue to force women to be freedom fighters. The same sacrifices made by women are degraded, encouraging wom- en’s football to be “cast as eagerly following in the footsteps of the men – only at an ‘earlier’ stage of development”, as said by former professional and football activist Caitlin Davis Fisher of FIFPro. An idea, she says, is “too simplistic”. “The women’s game is not behind the men’s game, but rather a product of the same football system. It is smaller in size and visibility because it has been excluded and trivi- alized by the cultural norms, institutions, and the dominant football industry.”  Not too long ago, teams competing in France would have been forbidden from playing at all. In 1921, the English FA cited a pseudo-scientific paper in declaring football “quite unsuitable for females”, outlawing the game for 50 years de- spite the popularity at this point running almost parallel to the men’s game. In 1941, as Brazil went on to cite that very same paper, banning women from the professional sport until 1979, women had been playing for over 20 years. The football system Fisher refers to is one commonly visual- ised as a pyramid structure. From outright expulsion, female footballers have since found their way to its base. The reality of which consistently confronting the world’s best players with second-class treatment. For the likes of Kerr, Rapinoe, Morgan and Hegerberg this may transpire through inferior travel, re- ceiving less in Per Diems, or watching fresh grass being rolled out for men over the artificial pitch on which they have just played, but their ability to say ‘no’ means so much more. Billed as the landmark moment for women’s football before a single ball had even been kicked, this summer’s tournament in France was offered up as a cultural turning point in history. From every angle, it seemed, we were told by the football industry to expect the proverbial penny to drop among the masses, to be ready to embrace the moment the women’s game would finally capture our imagination. FIFA proclaimed an expected TV audience of a billion viewers and that any remaining tickets were available only for very “fewmatches”. It came off the back of a season of record crowd attendances across Europe, reports of rising pay and huge strides forward in terms of professionalism. Whereby news of huge corporate investment seemed followed only by that of multimillion dollar marketing campaigns from sport manufacturers, helping bring forth women’s football from the shadows of the men’s game. All of which was supposedly marking a new dawn; elevating the game to its most popular ever embodiment. Less expected, amongst the furor of pro- gress, was being enlightened to its gatekeeper for so long. At the very epicentre of this newfound hype and celebration surrounding women’s football, out shone a commitment from some of the world’s best players, using their growing platform to bring awareness to huge gender inequalities. As Hegerberg pointed out, the choice between being a player and someone who fights for equality remains, and always has done, an illusion. For decades, the identities of female foot- baller and activist have been welded together by the powers supposedly acting in the name of the game itself. Omniscient forms of gender discrimination at the level of federations and governing bodies means even the world’s best are not immune. Huge disparities in pay, working conditions, risk of total abandonment, and even sexual abuse, are only some of the systemic ills to plague this branch of the game. Followed only, nor for better or worse, by a culture of victimhood to high levels of homophobia, abuse and social isolation commonly ex- perienced by aspiring young players simply for following their passion. “IT’S ABOUT ATTITUDE AND RESPECT, WE’RE TALKING ABOUT YOUNG GIRLS GETTING THE SAME OPPORTUNITY AS BOYS - GIVING THEM THE SAME OPPORTUNITY TO DREAM” Ada Hegerberg, Olympique Lyonnais Varying from country to continent, in both form and severity, playing has always required a rebellious spirit. Though the women’s game may be on the rise, to evoke a new beginning denounces a tradition drenched in controversy that these players made sure ought not to be forgotten and put right. On Friday 8 th March of this year - International Women’s Day - all 28 squad members of the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) submitted a federal class action lawsuit against their own governing body, US Soccer, alleging years of “institutionalised gender discrimination”. Filed un- der the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the ongoing case is part of the newly crowned world champion’s quest to gain equal treatment to their male counterparts. On the eve of the tournament, the eventual golden ball and boot winner Megan Rapinoe, alongside teammate and joint top-scorer Alex Morgan, were joined by Australia’s Sam Kerr. Her world-cup bound Matildas waltzed to France also carrying the heavy chasm of pay disparity on their backs; launching a campaign asking the question: “Is it too much to ask?”, under the tagline “Our Goal is Now”. This time the Professional Footballers Association Australia was addressing FIFA and the distribution of tournament prize money. The difference currently stands at a stagger- ing $336 million when factoring in the number of teams between those in Russia 2018 and France 2019. A figure which in recent years has widened. Competing for just 7.5% of the men’s prize money pool meant, even in winning the competition, they would receive only half of what the male Socceroos did for an exit at the group stage. The hashtag #WorldCupEquality was born and would remain an ev- er-present throughout. On the pitch, Brazil’s Marta used her goal celebrations to promote her own ‘Go Equal’ campaign, while 15 Canadians would run out as newly pledged Common Goal members committed to social change, transporting the debate from twitter’s trending page onto the terraces and into the homes of millions worldwide. Under the bright lights of floodlit stadiums, the social move- ment that happens to play football was met head-on by a multitude of detractors. From “hijacking the attention from her teammate” as put to Hegerberg by Fox Sports’ football pundit Alexi Lucas, to the USWNT supposedly over-celebrat- ing in their 13-0 victory over Thailand, and the call for smaller goals, players were repeatedly berated for both their mes- sage and their conduct. The 38 cents made by the USWNT, compared to the men’s dollar, was quickly justified by only the latest barrier to women’s football: the market. Financial reward, it was said, should exist in relation to success of the team or the sport as a product of popularity. England and Atlético Madrid Femenino forward Toni Duggan told The Guardian: “I don’t believe I should [be paid equally 24 25 FOOTBALL FORGOODMAGAZINE | AUGUST 2019 AN EQUAL GAME