”Boo sexism” (boo at sexism) is written on a stand banner when Spain plays the European Championship against Belgium in Thun.
A reminder of which national team is playing – and what it has been through since the World Championship gold and the subsequent scandalous kiss two years ago.
So much has changed now – in all ways, says Spanish football legend Verónica ”Vero" Boquete to TT.
The 38-year-old striker is still playing, in recent years in Fiorentina but no longer in the national team, and is at the European Championship as a TV expert. She continues:
The changes are noticeable in the conditions for the players in both clubs and the national team. It is noticeable in the association where both the president and other people (who needed to disappear) are gone. But it is also noticeable in society, how women's football is followed by fans and on TV. You see here, there is a large group of Spanish journalists on site.
Joy and anger
Spanish pioneer Boquete has a long career behind her, where Tyresö (2012–2014) is one of many clubs she has represented. Seeing women's football flourish – both in Spain and internationally – gives mixed feelings.
There are so many people and so many women who have worked hard for this, to get what we always thought would be possible. Seeing it happen makes me feel both satisfaction and joy. But also a little anger that I myself did not get to experience it in the national team, she says.
The aftermath of the World Championship was turbulent. The president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, was forced to leave his post after first wanting to stay, for having kissed the star Jennifer Hermoso during the gold celebration. He was later banned from all football activities and in the trial earlier this year, he was convicted of sexual assault.
The Spanish women wanted to boycott the national team after the World Championship, but were selected against their will and threatened with sanctions.
We had demanded that they should listen to us for quite some time, since there has been systematic discrimination against women for many decades, said Irene Paredes then.
”Doing good things”
They finally got changes, even if the current national team coach Montse Tomé is not uncontroversial. She was previously assistant national team coach to Jorge Vilda and initially showed her support for Rubiales.
When team captain Irene Paredes talks during this year's European Championship, it sounds completely different.
They are doing good things at the association now. All changes take their time, but new people with fresh winds and a will to do things well have come in, she says to AS.
Top favorite Spain has started the European Championship with two huge wins, 5–0 against Portugal and 6–2 against Belgium. In Friday evening's group final against Italy in Bern, a single Spanish point is enough to secure first place.
