Andrea Martínez wasn’t quite sure what he was getting himself into when he tried to score extra points for Mexico’s college football team.
she probably it women’s team positions, or at least there will be other women on the roster. But when she won the spot, Martinez was said to become the first woman among men to play college football in the country’s top amateur division.
“It didn’t work out at first because I didn’t fully understand that I was going to be the first woman,” Martinez admitted in an interview with the Associated Press. I thought there would be a women’s team as well.”
A law student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Martinez has been playing soccer since he was 12 years old. She tried to play professionally in her Liga Femenil MX, but she didn’t make the cut.
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She continued to play soccer at school, but a few months ago, UNAM football team Pumas CU decided to hold tryouts for placekickers.
“The decision I made was to try a new sport, just to be adventurous and see what it’s all about,” Martinez said. I was so happy when I heard that.”
Martinez, 21, said he rarely watched NFL games before he started playing soccer, but that his brother was a fan of the sport helped.
She said many Mexicans are trading “futbol” for soccer as the American sport continues to raise interest in the country. has a fan of
There are several women in the United States who have played as placekickers on men’s teams. Liz Heaston first did it for the NAIA’s Willamette Bearcats in 1997. Ashley Martin played for Jacksonville State University in 2001, scoring in her first NCAA Division 1 game. rice field.
Andrea Martinez quit soccer and became the first woman to play collegiate football with a man in the top amateur division in Mexico. Liga Mayor football match against the Aztecs on October 8, 2022 in Mexico City Puma kicker Martinez adjusting his helmet during.
(AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Martinez she has her own locker roombut she does the rest of the activities with the men on the team.
“Coexistence is the same as with girls. But the way we live together, the way we talk to each other, the way we support each other, the way we joke,” Martinez said. I got to know them here on the field, not just in the gym, and I have 67 brothers and sisters so far.”
Since joining the team, Martinez has given around 80 interviews. Her face has been featured in the country’s major newspapers and even occupies a space on national television rarely seen by Mexican college football players.
Although that wasn’t her goal, Martinez has become a symbol of female empowerment in a country considered lagging behind on issues of inclusion. Of course they ask for pictures.
“Little girls and boys come and ask to be photographed, or come up and say nice things,” Martinez said. “It’s the happiest thing I’ve ever done. Maybe the fact that I was able to realize that gave them a little bit of inspiration.”
It may also be a coincidence, but Martinez’s story has helped bring more NFL fans to Mexico.
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In a recent interview with local media, San Francisco 49ers president Al Guido said that attending a regular-season game next November is part of a broader strategy to win fans over the country. said it is.
“We don’t want them to leave the ball behind,” Guido said of football. “We want them to throw ours too, and have our logo on their chest.
