The Colombian Women’s Football Team reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. They defeated the Jamaican team in a thrilling match. These athletes had to fight against a lot of odds in their home country but they never gave up hope. The team has earned high praise and support from all because of their determination to fight against sexism. Many big names have voiced their opinion on the matter, which now includes an American track and field hero.

Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson has joined the conversation in favor of the Colombian Women’s team. The legendary athlete had in the past made headlines by pointing out the lack of support for women athletes in America. This time he was once again in the news for his support for women athletes from another country.

Track and Field legend Michael Johnson praised the Colombian Women’s team

The Colombian team managed to pull through a hard-fought victory in Melbourne on Tuesday. They defeated the Jamaican team 1-0 and advanced into the quarterfinals for the first time in history. The team had no support from fans in Colombia for a long time. The bleachers stayed empty whenever they entered the field. The 2019 Women’s League season was also going to be canceled because of the attitude of fans. The Colombian Men’s team, on the other hand, received overwhelming support and had a large fan base.

Beer Aguila, a Colombian beverage company, started the “Half-fans” campaign where the male players entered the field with half the team’s logo, and the women players sported the other half. Fans reacted to the campaign, and the audience in the women’s games grew by over 600 percent. Now with the support from the fans, the Colombian team earned their way to the quarter-finals. Michael Jonshon was moved by the team’s determination and praised them on Twitter, saying, “Pretty cool! And they’re now in the quarterfinals of the World Cup!” The ace track and field athlete commended the team and reminded everyone that the women’s team deserves the same respect as their male counterparts. The women’s football teams in many countries, including the vanquished team from Jamaica, see the same treatment from fans.

Stellar display of skill from women athletes

Somehow the fans believe that women’s football is “not worth it”. However, that perception may change with the stellar performance of the women athletes in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This year the smaller teams have made a greater impact in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Jamaica’s team manager Lorne Donaldson spoke to ESPN, saying, “Everyone is looking at these smaller countries”. Her team, the Reggae Girlz, had to battle against the Federation’s gender biases to even reach Sydney for the tournaments. They had to rely on crowdfunding to pay for the travel expenses because the Jamaican government refused to pay for them.

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Colombia became the first South American nation after Brazil to reach the quarterfinals. This moment was celebrated by all nations on the continent. Nelson Abadia, the team’s coach, called it a “triumph of a human group”. Women’s football has a long way to go before it can boast of the same level of popularity as men’s. But support for great icons like track and field superstar Michael Johnson will definitely shift the tide in the women’s favor.

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