The globalization and feminization of soccer: The twin factors of global dynamics and national structures

Women's soccer is becoming the subject of worldwide fever pitch in a context strongly dominated by men. Is it therefore possible to speak of feminization, and should we see it as a collective phenomenon? This work attempts to understand both the scope and limits of this feminization and how it relates to male practice in a global dynamic of soccer development and its anchoring in national contexts. Without showing any causal effect, we establish statistical links based on an analysis of FIFA and national federation data (number of players, prize lists, performance), and their cross-references with three international socio-economic indices: the Human Development Index (HDI), the Gender Development Index (GDI), and the Gender Inequality Index (GII). The scale and heterogeneity of the data by country led us to use multivariate statistical analysis (ACP, Anova) to ascertain the weight of each of these indices. The result is that the feminization of soccer is not dependent on male practice. At different scales, it takes place in national configurations where socioeconomic, political, and cultural factors and the international context have their influence. Without being an isolated phenomenon, feminization here operates as a lengthy and multifaceted process of ``glocalization.''