In the realm of sporting treachery, it’s hard to outlast FIFA, the governing body for international soccer. More often than not, the organization stands for blatant corruption, resistance to gender equality and a refusal to acknowledge the spectacular ascent of the women’s game.
Here’s a vote of support, however, for an idea FIFA is reportedly considering: staging the Women’s World Cup every two years, instead of four.
Simply put, we don’t see nearly enough of a U.S. team that has gained such worldwide acclaim. People fondly recall the likes of Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Michelle Akers, Brandi Chastain and Tiffeny Milbrett (to name a few) from the 1999 World Cup championship team, but in essence, nothing has changed since then. The USWNT never fails to have exciting talent, competitive fire, appealing role models and big personality. They get an enormous kick out of playing each other, and with a roster full of highly decorated players, they leave the U.S. men looking rather weak in comparison.
Retired U.S. star Landon Donovan recently told ESPN that the current men’s team is “hard to watch right now. I don’t see fire and passion, and I don’t see them really competing.” No kidding. Two months ago, in the CONCACAF Nations League, the USMNT lost to Canada for the first time in 34 years.
The U.S. women, meanwhile, have done a lot of winning, most recently at this year’s World Cup in France, with glowing recognition in its wake. Megan Rapinoe was selected Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated. Time Magazine put the entire team on the cover for its Athlete of the Year award, calling it “a team that transcended sports.” Julie Ertz was named U.S. Soccer Women’s Player of the Year, a richly deserved honor, but it could have gone to Rapinoe, sparkplug midfielder Rose Lavelle or master distributor Tobin Heath — and that doesn’t even get around to Alex Morgan or goal-scoring machine Carli Lloyd, who has enjoyed a career revival since Vlatko Andonovski replaced longtime U.S. coach Jill Ellis.
Every time this team appears on TV, it’s a must-see event for millions of fans — and it doesn’t happen nearly often enough in an elite setting. The annual SheBelives Cup involves just four teams. There are international “friendlies” and Olympic Games qualifying, but the latter event is sadly lacking. Only 12 teams will compete in Tokyo 2020, and only three could qualify from Europe. In an absurd development, those selections were based entirely on World Cup results, and because France and Germany didn’t have as much success there as Great Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden, those two powerhouses were shut out of the Olympics.
“There has to be something that changes this,” retired U.S. great Abby Wambach wrote on Twitter. “UEFA needs to spend the money and do a proper qualifying tournament. France is too good not to be at the Olympics. Total shame.”
Without question, the women deserve better in all countries. That’s been obvious for decades. Let’s do something about that four-year wait.
Bruce Jenkins is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: bjenkins@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1
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December 27, 2019 at 03:37AM
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World Cup every two years? The women deserve it - San Francisco Chronicle
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