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Mara Gomez will be the first trans player authorized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) to play in the women's league.
Argentina's Football Association (AFA) announced that Mara Gomez will be the first trans player to take part in the first division of the Argentinean women's soccer league.
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AFA qualified the young woman, 22, under the Gender Identity Law, which was sanctioned in Argentina in 2012. The document requires trans people to be treated according to their self-perceived gender identity.
"Today I am officially a player of Argentina's top soccer category," Gomez tweeted after signing an agreement with the AFA.
"The road was long, there were many obstacles, fears, and sadness. I thought I was going to be nobody, that I would never be happy," she added.
In an interview for Pagina 12, the athlete told that she tried to commit suicide several times because of the bullying she suffered.
��️������Argentina celebrates 10 years of marriage equality today. . . (with the same leftist political party in power right now as was in 2010 who pushed and passed for LGBT+ legislation. . . and that former president is now the vice-president). https://t.co/7wVyoAM7Pp
— Tomás Prower (@TomasPrower) July 16, 2020
"Once I wanted to get to the avenue and kill myself under any passing vehicle. It was a neighbor who is a great friend today, who saved my life that day," Gomez said.
Trans athletes' inclusion is an open debate for the authorities in the sports world. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that sex-change surgery is no longer necessary to compete in the branch corresponding to the gender identity of the players.
"I will fulfill one of the biggest goals of my life. Thanks to all the people who accompanied me, supported me, and believed in me," she tweeted.
@CastroEspinM, long-time #LGBT rights activist and daughter of #Cuba's former President @RaulCastroR says she will propose same-sex marriage among the Caribbean island's next constitutional reforms. pic.twitter.com/j1xpDQaSBW
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) May 6, 2018
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