MPC Press International

Soon after our arrival in Barcelona, Ella joined a local futbol club, Maddock Sports.  The team plays year-round.  Soccer in Spain, pretty intense, right?  Not exactly…

Ella’s team consisted of about 10 girls including the Nelson sisters (Mia and Ella) from Menlo Park, and Barcelona locals Lisa, Maria, Paula, Alexandra, Pili and Alexia.  The practice fields are about a mile from our apartment, making life not too difficult, even without a car.  Coaching was in Spanish, but what better way to learn a new language.

My first surprise was the size of the team.  Games are 5 on 5, including the goalie.  Is there not enough interest in girls futbol for larger teams on larger fields?  Last year, Ella’s U10 team in San Francisco played 8 on 8.

My second surprise was that Ella’s teammates ranged in age from 10 (Ella) to 15.  The Barcelona girls league does not have enough interest to field more narrow age range teams.

My third surprise (although fairly quickly I was no longer amazed) was that parents would often drop off their kids at the games, if they bothered to bring their kids at all.  Simply, Spanish parents do not seem to care about girls futbol.

What is wrong here?  It actually did not take much time in Spain to learn about the general difference between boys and girls sports.  Simply, girls are not encouraged.  Parents are ambivalent about whether their girls take the field for any athletic endeavor; futbol is probably the most popular sport for girls, not that you would ever know it.  Yes, I am making a massive generalization, and I have heard that interest among girls has increased.  But I have not been told of any Title IX-type force that will quickly shift the winds.

Of course, boys futbol is everywhere in Barcelona and Spain, with widespread participation.  Family weekends often revolve around boys games, maybe not that different from how kids’ sports, be it soccer, baseball, basketball, football, hockey, are treated in the U.S. today.

On a related note, it is widely known that the Spanish men’s futbol team sits at the top of the world rankings, and has for some time.  The U.S. men are currently in the 14th spot.  The U.S. women are the best team in the world.  What surprised me, although not after Ella’s experience, is that the Spanish women are ranked 15.  It is quite obvious to all that the multitude of U.S. men’s sports negatively impacts the country’s competitiveness in futbol, and the lack thereof for U.S. women does the opposite.  For Spain and its women, the country just doesn’t care.

Now you will probably not be shocked to see a picture of Ella on the “field”; yes, leave the cleats at home.

…and here was the available team at the same game; fortunately we had the minimum of 5 players…

Sadly, Ella’s team lost players and churned through 3 different coaches in 4 months.  In addition, the club, Maddock Sports, is having financial difficulties.  So, it is on to new endeavors for Ella, but she looks forward to playing again upon our return to San Francisco in the Fall.

Tags: futbol, goalie, Maddock Sports, soccer, Spain, sports