The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is scheduled to open Thursday (July 20) and would feature some of the fiercest advocates for LGBT+ rights and visibility. However, the global football governing body said it was in the process of reviewing its rules pertaining to transgender athletes in the sport in the lead-up to the Women's World Cup.
FIFA announced the review a year ago after its swimming and athletics counterparts passed their new tighter rules in the aftermath of the Lia Thomas incident. FIFA added there is no timeline for its updated guidelines as officials, like those in swimming and athletics, try to balance the desire for inclusion with safety and fairness.
Global Sport in Scrutiny
First published in 2011, FIFA's rules state that only men are allowed to play in men's competitions, and the same goes for women. Each participating member association must, "prior to the nomination to the national team, ensure the correct gender of all the players to be considered...by actively investigating any perceived deviation in secondary sex characteristics."
Since the publication, critics of transgender inclusion in women's sports say going through male puberty imbued athletes with a huge physical advantage that transition does not mitigate.
Swedish defender Nilla Fischer revealed in her recent book that she and her teammates had to "show their genitalia for the doctor" at the 2011 World Cup, after allegations Equatorial Guinea's team had male players.
23-year-old Zambia's team captain Barbra Banda's fate became uncertain after she was ruled ineligible for last year's Africa Cup of Nations amid speculation of high testosterone levels. While she would be leading the Zambian squad in the Women's World Cup, she has been the target of unforgiving scrutiny.
Rapinoe's Final FIFA Run
In a Time Magazine interview, US women's soccer team captain Megan Rapinoe revealed she would be retiring from the sport at the end of the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) 2023 season. This also meant the 2023 World Cup would be her fourth and last.
She made headlines after she revealed in the Time interview she was open to having a trans female teammate if given the chance.
"We as a country are trying to legislate away people's full humanity," she added. "It's particularly frustrating when women's sports are weaponized."
Rapinoe, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year, went on to dismiss critics of transgender inclusion in women's sports as people who bring harm to transgenders far beyond the athletic field. She also called people's perspectives about fairness in women's sports as "bulls***," reasoning that trans athletes taking advantage in women's sports was "just not happening."
Rapinoe and her partner, retired WNBA star Sue Bird, were among the 40 professional athletes who signed a letter to US House lawmakers in April in opposition to the Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act, arguing the bill would exclude women and girls from getting "mental and physical health benefits."
In 2017, the US women's team, including Rapinoe, famously lost 5-2 to an under-15 FC Dallas boys team in an informal training match.
Female Sports Personalities Respond to Rapinoe's Rants
Rapinoe responded to comments made by retired Czech tennis star Martina Navratilova, comedian Dave Chappelle, and ESPN presenter Sage Steele.
Navratilova, a lesbian herself and a trailblazer for gay rights, tweeted "Yikes..." in response to the soccer star. She has also responded to several users on social media questioning her peculiar take on trans women in sports, saying while she was "on the side of the trans community," she was also supportive of women athletes.
"When it comes to sports we have biological categories for the obvious reason - biology," she added. "Trans people are free to compete - in their biological category. Simple."
According to the Daily Mail, the 66-year-old Florida-based sporting icon recently revealed she went through "seven months of hell" before announcing Monday (July 17) she was free from breast and throat cancer.
"It's been very difficult but I'm cancer free now knock on wood. And Julia - it scared her too. it was scary," she told ITV's Good Morning Britain while referring to her partner, 51-year-old Julia Lemigova.
Meanwhile, Steele and ESPN colleague Sam Ponder also hit back on Rapinoe's take on trans athletes in female sports, calling the matter "absurd" and "predictable.
"This is what happens when [people] allow their emotions to get in the way of facts and science, [especially] when they're fighting to keep a false narrative alive," Steele added.
Related Article: ESPN's Sam Ponder, Sage Steele Question Megan Rapinoe's Take on Trans Women in Sports
