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Gender social change, international influence and sensemaking in the launch and evolution of the Mexican professional women’s football league

2020; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 24; Issue: 7 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17430437.2020.1734561

1743-0445

Daniel Añorve Añorve,

Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

This paper analyzes the launch and evolution of Liga MX Femenil in Mexico. Indicators pertaining to two dimensions of the game, on-field actors and off-field organization-administrative structures, help to analyze the degree of women’s participation in the formation and growth of the league as well as its evolutionary perspectives. The main objective is to identify the factors that have influenced the effective advancement of women’s professional football in Mexico. The analysis is mainly based on documentary evidence. It is concluded that rather than the governing body, Federación Mexicana de Fútbol, designing specific policies for women, a combination of non-football women’s advancement within the broader Mexican society, international influence, and changes in sensemaking may explain the growing participation of women that led to the launch of LMXF. Based on the findings, four scenarios of evolution are outlined.