Women in sports should be able to celebrate victories, too
This is the opinion of Ugbad Abdi, CSB senior
Ever since I can remember, watching or playing sports has been a big part of my family. One of my earliest memories was watching the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament with my dad as it was hosted by an African country, South Africa, for the first time.
From Shakira’s unforgettable banger of a song, “Waka Waka,” to Somali singer K’naan’s hit song, “Waving Flag,” it was a World Cup you couldn’t forget.
Not only did the tournament have memorable World Cups songs, but it had some shocking controversies, one of the biggest being Luis Suarez’s handball in the quarterfinals match against Ghana—the last standing African team in the tournament. Eventually leading the match to go to penalties, La Celeste declined Ghana the chance at reaching the semi-finals, which no African team has done until recently, where Morocco beat Portugal in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals.
Then, of course, the football itself—most notably Spain’s tiki taka style of football. Some may argue that 2010 doesn’t even make it to the list of “top 5 World Cup tournaments.” But personally, the nostalgia it brings is why it is one of those tournaments I will not forget.
To say that Spain’s team was stacked with the best of the best does not even begin to do justice to the powerhouse that was this national team. From the exceptional defensive skills and leader that was Real Madrid’s defender, Sergio Ramos, to the unmatched football IQ, dribbling and finesse of FC Barcelona’s top midfielder, Andrés Iniesta, their team was filled with talent.
With four minutes left before the game would have gone to penalties, Iniesta’s sole goal went on to help Spain’s national team win their first ever World Cup in their country’s history.
This past summer, co-hosts Australia and New Zealand held the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament. Just 13 years after Spain’s men’s national team had won the World Cup, it was the women’s national team’s turn to make some history. For the first time in their history, Spain’s women’s national team won the World Cup. Although the score may not reflect it, Spain dominated the game against England. With a final score of 1-0, Spain won the tournament, thanks to a goal from Olga Carmona.
This was supposed to be such a wonderful and exciting moment in these women’s careers. Unfortunately, they did not get the same happy ending.
As Spain’s national team went on to receive their medals, former Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales grabbed one of the players face, Jenni Hermoso, and proceeded to give Hermoso an unprompted kiss on the lips.
Images circulated all throughout social media of the incident with former president Rubiales, claiming that the kiss was “consensual” from both parties.