One desirable thing about Argentina is that it is driven by extreme passion. The people here are very passionate about their culture – the food, music, dance, and also the country’s sports.
In Argentina, men’s sports have received great support and attention from people and the higher-ups. However, one aspect in the sports field that hasn’t been receiving the attention it deserves is the country’s girls’ and women’s sports.
There are several women’s sports played in Argentina, and here are some of them.
Field Hockey
Women in Argentina are known for being the best in field hockey. One well-known team of Argentina in field hockey is the Las Leonas or The Lions. Las Leonas is among the best women’s teams worldwide in field hockey, and they have won several championships, such as the World Cup and the Olympics.
The arrival of field hockey in America and Argentina is all thanks to Constance M.K Applebee, who started field hockey in America when she arrived in the country in 1901. She introduced the sport to America and neighboring countries until field hockey became popular in schools, universities, colleges, and many other clubs and organizations. The sport is so interesting that even female athletes showed huge interest in field hockey.
Las Leonas has been in the field for decades, received many awards, and enjoyed many achievements and successes. Their first win was in the Pan American Games held in Indianapolis in 1987.
The team also joined many field hockey World Cups and has been a popular and outstanding team since 1974, when they earned their first-ever silver medal. After two years, Las Leonas earned another medal in the World Cups, and in 2022, the team has already garnered nine medals in the competition.
Las Leonas has been the World Champions in the World Cups twice during the 2002 and 2010 competitions. Even though there were years that they didn’t earn a medal, they still had a place in the top 10 teams in the World Cups.
Football
Argentina women have also been known in the field of football. Women football players belong to Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, a sports club located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The players in the club are called Las Santitas, and they belong to the country’s best women’s football clubs.
The team has received several awards, including Primera División titles, which they won three times on 2009, 2015, and 2021. They also became the first club to attain this achievement, alongside Boca Juniors and River Plate. Las Santitas was also the first Argentinian women’s football team to participate in the 2009 Copa Libertadores Femenina.
Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro was also one of the four football clubs to garner the championship award of the first division, along with Boca Juniors, River Plate, and UAI Urquiza. And on April 12, 2019, the club became the first-ever Argentinian women’s football club to earn the professional title. During that time, there were 15 Argentinian women football players to earn professional status.
Basketball
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Aside from field hockey and football, basketball is also one of the most popular sports in Argentina among women. The Argentinian women’s national basketball team is called Las Gigantes or “The Giantesses” in English. This team is under the Argentine Basketball Federation.
Las Gigantes is considered among the best women’s basketball teams worldwide, the same as their male counterparts. This is because they have received many awards in international basketball events, such as the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women in 200, wherein Las Gigantes ranked 3rd place in the final standing.
Futsal
Another popular sport among women athletes in Argentina is Futsal. Argentina also has a national futsal women’s team, and it is under Asociación Del Fútbol Argentino.
The team has been joining different international futsal competitions. It has won several awards in events like the Women’s Copa América in 2005 and 2017, where they won 3rd place, and in 2011 held in Venezuela, and in 2019 held in Paraguay, where they won 2nd place. When the team won in 2011, they qualified for their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Futsal Championship 2011 in Brazil.
Volleyball
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Argentina also has its women’s volleyball team representing the country in different international women’s volleyball competitions worldwide. The team is under the Argentine Volleyball Federation and has participated in events like the world championships, Summer Olympics, and many other international competitions.
The Argentinian women’s volleyball team has received different awards in different tournaments. Some of these are during the Final Four Volleyball Cup in 2008 and 2010, where they garnered 3rd place in both years. The team also garnered 9th place during the 2016 Olympic Games and a bronze medal in 2008, 2013, and 2015 Pan-American Cup.
There are several issues that women athletes in Argentina face until now. They still sometimes experience discrimination because they are females, and many people do not take them seriously when it comes to sports. Male athletes receive bigger opportunities compared to female athletes in Argentina. For instance, even though female soccer teams also have excellent performance like the male soccer teams in the country, they do not receive the Argentinians’ sense of national pride as male athletes do.
Some Argentinian elite sports, especially the women’s teams, are underfunded, so they are most likely underdeveloped. Since they lack funding, most women athletes cannot live comfortably like other elite athletes worldwide. It could possibly affect their performances in different international competitions worldwide.
And since Argentina is still a developing country, they do not have enough economic resources to offer better opportunities to both male and female athletes. If only the country had greater economic resources, it could have improved the quality of sports, especially women’s sports.
They could also enhance the performance of every female athlete and improve their ability to be a professional female athlete in the country. Greater economic resources would lead to greater opportunities for female athletes and increase the number of female athletes in Argentina. Because of this, females whose choice of career is in the field of sports would be normalized and be widely accepted by the people in the country. It would not only enhance the female elite sports in Argentina but also improve the Argentinians’ quality of life in the whole country.