When women’s soccer had goals… roses
Imagine this: Mexico, 1971. The second tournament of the Independent European Women’s Football Federation (FIEFF) is played here. The conditions? Pink goals and a single uniform design for everyone. Yes, you read that right.
Six Latin American teams participated, including the host. The ‘mascot’ was a young woman named Xóchitl. This story, almost lost in time, is now revived in an exhibition.
Design that counts for more than goals
“The exhibition explores how through design the history of this sport and, at the same time, the history of society can be told”
‘Football: Designing a Passion’ at the Franz Mayer Museum brings together more than 309 objects from 11 World Cups. From Uruguay 1930 to the next tournament in North America this year.
The posters, uniforms and memorabilia from that ’71 women’s tournament are key pieces. They talk about a time when women’s football was… different. With its own aesthetic rules imposed.
The exhibition is part of Host City Mexico City’s cultural program for the FIFA World Cup. Other museums such as Jumex, Tamayo and Palacio de Iturbide also participate.
It even coincides with the long-awaited reopening of the Dolores Olmedo Museum. The timing is perfect: just when women’s football is experiencing a historic moment of visibility.
It’s funny how those unique uniforms and pink goals seem so foreign to us now. But there they are, telling us what it was like to play when almost no one was watching.
