Women in football

Welcome to our occasional series of articles covering the topic of women in football.

We begin with an analysis of the proceedings that occurred after the final whistle of Sevilla's farsical demolotion of Middlesborough on Wednesday in the final of the UEFA Cup in Eindhoven.

At the end of the match, Prince Philip (Principe Felipe) of Spain and his beautiful wife Princess Letizia (pictured) went down from the royal box to be amongst the players. Principe Felipe took the trophy and held it aloft for the players and fans. What was remarkable about this moment was his goodly wife stood alongside, surrounded by the men and remaining silent and smiling while they all reached to touch the sacred object.

One must wonder at this. Was he forsaking his wife? Was she instructed not to touch the trophy? Certainly she is a short woman, much shorter than him, so it is possible she couldn't reach it when he held it up? But it seems more symbolic and ancient than this. On one hand, the trophy might be seen as a phallic object, a sacred penis. However, careful analysis of mythical history reveals the trophy is a Grail symbol, the One (or Ace) of Cups, as it were. The season, or championship, is thus a quest for the grail. But what is the grail symbol?

"[The] Grail is a powerful symbol of primal female fecundity-nurturance-wisdom-divinity. Not only is the Grail-bearer generally a young woman, but the luminous Grail often contains the image of a child either by itself or within a eucharistic wafer. It takes little imagination to see the archetypal connection between the Grail as vessel-womb being fertilized, and the Christian story of the Incarnation-Annunciation, symbolized by the Eucharistic Cup." writes scholar Ingrid Shafer

Sounds strange? Why then were several Sevillian players seen tucking balls under their shirts in imitation of pregnancy? It must be noticed that the Princess recently gave birth to her own child.

However, in this instance, it was not the bestowing of the cup that was undertaken by a women. It is not that Prince Felipe witheld the sacred right from his wife, but that the original bestowing was performed by the UEFA President. This then is a symbolic and mythological falacy.

We must create a matriarchal line of women to head UEFA, and ultimately FIFA, in order to provide a pure line of women for the symbolic handing-over of the womb symbol to be fertilised by the man. The first woman of the dynasty should be the daughter of Principe Felipe and Letizia. Only in this way can we restore the interest of women to football and restore the ancient passage of energy to its natural flow. We must not forget our ancient patterns of behviour even in the theatre of the modern World Game.

And as a final, one must also note the presence of the Fool, the Joker amongst the players. A potent symbol that becomes before others, standing above the unformed world.