There is no Title IX in Mexico. Consequently, women do not get
anywhere near the opportunities to play sports that men do.
Still, UCLA women’s soccer forward Iris (pronounced
e-REES) Mora has beaten the odds and become a very successful
soccer player.
“In Mexico, women have to be at home with the kids,”
Mora said. “That’s just the mentality over
there.”
While soccer is huge in Mexico, women’s soccer is hardly
followed. On the Mexican Soccer Federation’s (FMFA) Web site,
only one of the 66 links and news articles has to do with
women’s soccer. Two prominent Mexican newspapers, La
Jornanda, and El Milenio had no mention of women’s soccer in
their sports pages while devoting most of the section to
men’s soccer.
“In terms of women’s sports, Mexico is probably
where (the United States) was about 10 years ago,” UCLA head
coach Jillian Ellis said. “Women’s sports are growing
there, but there still aren’t the same opportunities for
women as there are for men.”
Growing up in Cancun, Mexico, Mora had to play soccer with boys,
because there were no women’s leagues.
“I was made fun of a lot,” Mora said. “But
they stopped making fun of me when they saw I could play. The
people I played with are admiring me now after they’ve seen
what I’ve done.”
During hard times, Mora turned to her parents for support.
Neither of her parents played soccer professionally, but they
supported her all the way, even though women playing sports is not
a part of Mexican culture.
“I couldn’t have done it without their
support,” Mora said.
At age 15, Mora made it onto the Mexican National Team. In 1999,
she was a member of Mexico’s World Cup team as a 17-year
old.
“The World Cup was a very thrilling experience,”
Mora said. “Of course, I was disappointed we lost (all three)
matches. Next time, I want us to compete.”
Unfortunately for Mora, team Mexico not only lost all three
matches, they got outscored 15-1. However, that team was young, and
they have the potential improve.
“The other teams have been around for a lot longer, and we
know we have to work harder to get to that level,” Mora
said.
Six years after initially joining the national team, Mora
decided to come to UCLA.
“I came here because the coach (Ellis) is great, we have a
great team and a lot of competition,” Mora said. “I
don’t have this competition in Mexico. It has helped me
become a better soccer player.”
Her English skills are good, although she has a distinct accent
and chose to answer questions for this story in Spanish.
Her soccer skills are great. As a freshman, she leads No. 5 UCLA
in goals with seven and has helped guide the team to an 8-2
record.
“I did expect her to contribute right away,” Ellis
said. “She’s special, she’s a natural goal
scorer.”
The coach has seen Mora in an opponents’ uniform this
season, when UCLA played an exhibition match against the Mexican
National Team. Mora scored for Mexico.
“It was tough to play against my own teammates,”
Mora said. “The competition was very good.”
The only problem with getting to the next level is
Mexico’s women’s soccer is not very stable. They
don’t or can’t get together very often to practice, and
receive very little funding from the FMFA.
“We have gotten better since ’99, but we
haven’t gotten to the level where we need to be,” Mora
said. “Every time we rise up to another level, we go back to
where we were after a while. We have the Gold Cup coming up and we
haven’t practiced.”