The curtain came down on the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France on Sunday with a deserving American team winning the trophy for the fourth time after defeating the Netherlands 2-0. The tournament that had broken previous records of viewership has been about brilliant football and much more.
The competition brought a few social issues to the public eye and got a fitting conclusion as chants for equal pay filled the stadium at the end of Sunday’s final. For US captain and spirited women’s rights campaigner Megan Rapinoe, this must have been the icing on the cake.
Earlier this year, Rapinoe along with 28 of her teammates, had escalated their fight against gender disparity in pay by suing the US Soccer Federation for “institutionalised gender discrimination”. The 30th ranked US men’s team earns more from a match they lose than the 2nd ranked women’s team does from a match they win.
Speaking about the lack of respect that FIFA shows towards women in football, Rapinoe condemned the indifference exhibited in scheduling two other finals (Copa America and Golden Cup) on the same day of the Women’s World Cup final. “I don't think FIFA respects women as much as men,” said Rapinoe.
Megan Rapinoe with the World Cup trophy, golden boot and golden ball awards | AP
Rapinoe, who calls herself a “walking protest,” doesn’t confine her sharp words to the world of football. She had on multiple occasions spoken out against US President Donald Trump, calling him sexist, misogynistic, racist and “a jerk but entertaining”. Before the final on Sunday, Rapinoe had attracted controversy by scoffing in response when asked whether she would visit the White House after the World Cup. She explicitly answered that she won’t, calling the Trump government an “administration that doesn’t feel the same way or fight for the same things we do”. The offended president then took to Twitter to retaliate, telling Rapinoe to “win first” and to “finish the job”. Rapinoe went on to score in the final match and both the golden boot and the golden ball.
“I'm very aware of our platform as a team and how much impact that it has,” says Rapinoe, who has spoken out about various social issues including LGBTQ rights. In 2016, she had rocked the boat by kneeling down during the American national anthem before a match in silent protest against police brutality in America. She was one of the first and few white athletes to show support for the protest on an international platform.
With France 2019 quickly being dubbed as Rapinoe’s tournament, coach Jill Ellis defines the star perfectly, “For some people, the spotlight can burn, but for Megan, it highlights who she is.”
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