USWNT’s Megan Rapinoe right to criticize FIFA

USWNT star Megan Rapinoe was highly critical of FIFA after an amateur player was named a finalist for one of its annual awards.

U.S. women’s national soccer team midfielder Megan Rapinoe may be known for her highlight-worthy crosses and work on the wing, but her popularity has grown even more as a result of her willingness to speak up.

On Monday, the Seattle Reign player made headlines when she told the BBC that FIFA has shown it doesn’t care about women’s soccer after the governing body named Venezuela’s Deyna Castellanos one of the finalists for the award.

“The award just doesn’t hold a lot of weight when you’ve got someone on the list I’ve never heard of,” Rapinoe told the BBC. The Olympic gold medalist was referencing 18-year-old Castellanos. Castellanos has yet to play in a professional soccer league and has never made a senior debut. While her career has been undeniably decorated, especially at the collegiate level for Florida State, Rapinoe was not going to keep quiet when it comes to questioning the legitimacy of what should be the biggest award in soccer.

“It signals to us and it signals to the rest of the world that Fifa doesn’t really care,” Rapinoe said.

According to the BBC, FIFA responded to Rapinoe by saying the list is based off the input of national team coaches, captains, media reps and fans. Each group gets one quarter of say. “The process is clear and transparent and we are not involved in the final selection of nominees,” FIFA said.

The frustrating part here is the fact tthis situation has created yet another scenario to pen women against women, when really the anger is with the administration. “If some random male player, who was not even a full professional, was nominated, I’m sure they would step in for that, so it’s disappointing that the same hasn’t been done for us,” Rapinoe said. Australian international and Sky Blue forward Samantha Kerr, who many believe should have been included as at least a finalist, was also quoted on the decision.

“Not surprised really, it’s FIFA,” Kerr said. “To be honest, I turned the Twitter off for a few days. I wasn’t getting my hopes up.” Kerr became the all-time leading goalscorer in the NWSL this season after tallying 17 goals. The 23-year-old also chipped in seven goals for the Matildas.

So how were the finalists chosen? While FIFA explains the nominating process and the timeline being from November 2016 to August 2017, the list made everyone in the game wonder whether FIFA was even paying attention to the women’s game.

If we’re examining the finalists specifically, Martens deserved to win the award, no question. Martens earned the Golden Ball for the Euros after scoring three goals and helping her country win the tournament. She was also named UEFA Women’s Player of the Year after scoring eight goals over 11 games for her club side FC Rosengard this year.

Lloyd has had a quiet year. Overseas she helped Manchester City win the FA Cup, but also got herself in a three-game suspension pickle which kept her off the pitch for three of the club’s final four matches. When the two-time FIFA World Player of the Year returned to the States, she had a modest season for the Houston Dash of the NWSL, contributing two goals over eight games. Lloyd hasn’t scored on the international stage since April, when the USWNT cruised past Russia 5-1.

Next: USWNT roster announced for October matches vs. South Korea

As for young Castellanos, she burst on to the scene in October 2016, when she played in the Under-17 Women’s World Cup and scored from the halfway line to lead Venezuela over Cameroon in the tournament. Her strike was named the goal of the tournament. For Florida State she has scored 14 goals in 15 games played.

FIFA can give itself a half pat on the back for choosing Martens, but the real issue remains in its overall attention to and regard for the women’s game. On Monday night, as if there weren’t enough jabs already thrown, FIFA tweeted out the “FIFA FIFPro #World11 for 2017.” There was no tweet of the best 11 named for women.

So when will this change? Perhaps it’s going to take players like Rapinoe continuing to fire harsh, but true shots. Or maybe it’s going to take Sam Kerr scoring even more goals in 2018 for them to finally take notice. Either way, the fire has surely been lit toward the “stale, male(s)” of FIFA.