Towards the end of February, Frisco hosted the finals of the SheBelieves Cup in the Toyota Stadium. 

The final, one of the most anticipated games of the tournament, was between two top-ranked female soccer teams, the United States, ranked number one for the past years, and Brazil, ranked number nine. 

In the end, the United States defeated Brazil by two points with a score of two to one, and, once again, took home the cup. 

“[The players are] just great on the ball,” United States forward Alex Morgan said. “We have a great defensive structure, and they like to keep players high. So we always have numbers up, and good counter managers when it comes to that.”

Regardless of the results, having the opportunity to represent the country is an honor for most of the players. 

“Soccer is flourishing in our country,” Brazilian Soccer Player Tamires Cássia Dias de Britto said. “Being among the chosen players for the team is gratifying for all of us.”

The players, however, are not only representing their country, but all the women and girls that wish to play soccer. The SheBelieves Cup is an initiative to empower women and girls in soccer, with the goal of combating the inequality in the sport. 

In the United States, there is an inequality in wage. Since 2016, the women’s soccer team has been fighting for equal pay, and recently the U.S. soccer team has also joined in on the fight for $24 million for unfair wages. 

“We need to be valued as much as the men deserve the investment,” Morgan said. “People watching us play see just the return [they] are getting when they actually put the investment in soccer”

To continue the fight, the women soccer team will continue to publicize the issue and present it to the eyes of the public. 

“We’ll continue to publicize and make people aware of that situation and obviously FIFA continues to need to do a lot more than they’re doing now,” Morgan said. “There’s progress but we’re always going to continue to push for more.”

Small steps to bring the issues to light and through winning championships, female soccer players hope to create an equal ground between them and the male athletes. 

“I think that with each year, each cup, each game, each movement among all the federations and confederations we are getting a little bit more of our space,” Brazilian Soccer Player Lauren Eduarda Leal Costa said. “Each time we are getting closer to having the same [recognition] that the male teams have.”

The fight is not yet over, but these teams aspire to pave a path for the new and upcoming generations of female soccer players. 

“We are growing, we are evolving.” Britto said. “I believe that we will get where we deserve.”

Regardless of the struggles, players encourage young girls to keep going, keep playing soccer even if it may be difficult at the moment. 

“Keep going strong because it is not easy,” Britto said. ” The journey is not easy, but it’s worth it. Enjoy the journey.”

* Quotes translated from Portuguese to English by Manoela Spinella Vaz. In order of appearance.

”O futebol está crescendo muito agora no nosso país. Estar entre as convocadas é muito gratificante para todas nós.” Tamires Cássia Dias de Britto said.

“Acho que a cada ano, a cada copa, a cada torneio, a cada mobilização de todas as federações e de todas as confederações acho que a gente está conseguindo um pouco mais no nosso espaço. A gente está conseguindo cada vez mais chegar perto do que o masculino tem,” Lauren Eduarda Leal Costa said.

“A gente tá ganhando cada vez mais espaço. Acho que a gente está crescendo e está evoluindo, e acho que vamos chegar onde merecemos,” Tamires Cássia Dias de Britto said.

“Trabalhando. Segue trabalhando, segue firme que não é fácil. A jornada não é fácil, o processo não é fácil, mas vale a pena. Seguir lutando, trabalhando, e aproveitando tudo isso, que é curto e passa,” Lauren Eduarda Leal Costa said.

Edited by Maya Borkar