WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Norway striker Ada Hegerberg says it’s “brutal that the best players are forced to step back from the national team”
The Lyon striker talked about the 15 Spanish players that have rejected the National Team under boss Jorge Vilda.
Ada Hegerberg is a legend in women’s football. Not just for what she has achieved in her career on the pitch, but also off it. The Norwegian, the first ever Ballon d’Or in the history of women’s football, decided to step back from the national team in 2017 to fight for equal rights. Years later she achieved her goal, making Norway the first country to do so, and she returned to the team after her triumph.
When asked specifically about the 15 players who rejected the Spain National Team, she preferred to give a slightly reserved answer: “To be honest, I don’t have a lot of information on the subject, it’s not something that I know a lot about.”
‘A lot of players are forced to take a step back and it shouldn’t be like this’
But the Lyon striker is surprised that these fights continue to happen in various national teams across the world: “I think that today it’s brutal that the best players are forced to take a step back from their national team. Like I did, back in 2017 when I did it. There are a lot of places that are struggling, a lot of players are forced to take a step back and it shouldn’t be like this. It shows we still have a long way to go in terms of taking care of the players and their interests.”
The 27-year-old came back into the fold in 2022, after 5 years of rejection. After her return, Norway was tipped as a potential favourite for the Euro 2022 tournament. They will be near the top of the list at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with Hegerberg leading the line.
‘All we want is to have the best players available get the best conditions for women’
“All we want is to have the best players available and push forward and get the best conditions for women as its what they deserve”, she said, “its a common problem the world over; no matter the nation or background, we all face the same challenges.”
Hegerberg was taken off at half-time in the 4-2 defeat to Spain in Ibiza, and used her moment in front of the microphones to clear up any doubts about her fitness: “I’m very OK, I just came back so it was load management. I feel good”, she said.