“I go for the ruthless. The Red Flames shouldn’t hold back against countries like Armenia ‘

The Belgian national women’s football team got a name in 2013 and a face in 2017 when it first qualified for a big final tournament. Cause? A perfect momentum created by a golden generation of Red Devils, a social sensitivity to the inequality between male and female sport that permeates the media landscape and the enduring efforts of many girls who can and dare to dream of a sports career as a football star in the 21st century. In the meantime, participation in the next European Championship is assured and the next ambition is the World Cup. Poland, Albania, Kosovo, Norway and Albania are the opponents in the qualifying campaign, New Zealand and Australia the scheduled final destinations.
…

The Belgian national women’s football team got a name in 2013 and a face in 2017 when it first qualified for a big finals. Cause? A perfect momentum created by a golden generation of Red Devils, a social sensitivity to the inequality between male and female sport that permeates the media landscape and the enduring efforts of many girls who can and dare to dream of a sports career as a football star in the 21st century. In the meantime, participation in the next European Championship is assured and the next ambition is the World Cup. Poland, Albania, Kosovo, Norway and Albania are the opponents in the qualifying campaign, New Zealand and Australia the scheduled final destinations. In the meantime, Belgian women have bowed their heads to Norway, they feel the hot breath of their Polish counterparts and they have been ruthless for Albania, Kosovo and certainly for Armenia. The 19-0 score against the Armenians had even gone down in the history books as the most goals ever scored in a World Cup qualifier, a record-breaking victory. The newspapers are full, the internet is sending push messages, some readers think it’s smart, others think it’s disrespectful. “Keep scoring! Play the ball in a friendly manner! Referee, blow the whistle! Four minutes of overtime, two more goals to score! ‘ The division is great. Armenia did not play their first international match until 2003, 27 years later than the Belgian women’s team. Their “best player” is playing in the Spanish second division, while the Belgian girls have crossed borders since 2017, in search of a high-level foreign challenge. Belgium is still looking for affiliation with the big countries, Armenia only recently launched a “first” five-year plan. But then, would you show mercy? Would you like to introduce some kind of rule that when double digit numbers appear on the scoreboard, the game is shortened by 10 minutes? Or some sort of unwritten rule that only ball possession is played or the opponent is allowed to shoot at least once on goal? The North American Rule of Mercy (or Skunk Rule) in women’s football. It does exist, but not at the highest level and never as an official rule: 10 or more runs after several innings in baseball? Mercy, the game is over. 35 points or more for after-half in basketball? Grace, the clock won’t stop. 56-0 at halftime in American football? Clémence, the third and fourth quarters are shortened by 3 minutes. It’s sort of an unofficial ability and is said to promote the concept of fair play and sportsmanship. But I prefer the ruthless, the harsh, the cruel and the relentless. The Red Flames shouldn’t hold back. As an opponent, I would feel particularly humiliated if the team directly in front of me tapped the ball lightly while looking at me “softly” in the meantime. The monster score exposes the pain points of women’s football and in this case of the Armenian national football team. It is also a form of professionalism to adhere to the basic rule of the game: to score. ‘Professionalism?’ Undoubtedly resonates in the mind of a cynical person. “Women’s football has nothing to do with professional football,” and the reverberation stops. Professionalism is not only expressed in an official professional contract, exciting competitions, golden accommodations and perfectly toned bodies, it is also in the spirit of wanting to win and improve while respecting the phase in which is currently locates women’s football. ‘But men …’, a new reverberation begins. The men played their first international game 69 years earlier, have different physical builds, are undoubtedly much more advanced and really don’t matter in this story. In short, bravo Flames, great result. The Imke Courtois column is published every two weeks.