Ada Hagerberg who is considered to be one of the most talented female soccer players has decided to sit out the Women’s World Cup of 2019 in order to protest inequality in the sports industry.
Hagerberg has specified that she is extremely unhappy with the way women in sports are treated, saying that every woman is paid much less than their male counterparts and has less recognition for higher feats in their career.
Has anybody responded?
Due to the fact that Hagerberg quickly became the face of the UEFA’s (Union of European Football Associations) #TimeForAction campaign, her decision spread wide across the globe.
Many female soccer teams in countries such as the USA and Ireland have already started protesting the same issues in the industry.
The US team went as far as to file a lawsuit against the United States Soccer Federation. The lawsuit was regarding institutionalized gender discrimination and brought in arguments such as unequal pay and recognition.
In fact, the lawsuit details that a female soccer player in the United States was paid 40% of what their male counterparts made on a yearly basis.
A comment was made by the UEFA women’s soccer director, Nadine Kessler, saying that Hagerberg’s decision was one of the most far-reaching and impactful she has ever seen, mentioning that sitting out a World Cup for a world-class soccer player was a huge deal.
As reported by news source NorskeCasino, The Norwegian Football Association has also shown support for Hagerberg, mentioning that they support her decision and will hold relevant procedures to make sure that the sports industry in Norway is built on equality and fairness.
Sportsbooks respond
The loss of Hagerberg was a huge hit for Norway’s female national team, which has affected their chances of scoring a victory.
The player was so valued that various sportsbooks across the world have started increasing the odds on Norway’s victory on nearly every single match. This is especially true of bookmakers in Norway, where Ada is a superstar and considered a top female soccer player.
This has led to some outcry in the community, saying that the team does not revolve around one player, but it can’t be argued that the loss of Hagerberg was a huge hit for the effectiveness of the team, regardless of its performance without her.
More about Hagerberg
Ada Hagerberg has been playing soccer nearly all her life an has been nominated multiple times as one of the best performing female soccer players in the world. She has received multiple awards such as the 2015 Norwegian Gold Ball and was named as a player of the year in 2017 and 2019 as well.
Her journey on fighting for women’s rights started when she first experienced discrimination herself, although many football fans simply deem it as an honest mistake and a joke, Hagerberg took it quite seriously.
During the ceremony of the 2018 player of the year from Ballon d’Or, she was publicly asked to twerk on stage, which she deems to have been the last straw in her more restrictive demeanor and has become more vocal about the social issues in the sports industry ever since