Pink October
Enora & Léa, France
To raise awareness of the breast cancer awareness campaign Pink October, we teamed up with ground-breaking women’s football brand ALKÉ for a special collaboration in France. Starting in October 2020, the Pink October campaign by ALKÉ saw 11 amateur clubs across France wear a specially designed pink kit as a means of raising awareness about the fight against breast cancer. The kits were worn by women soccer teams during October games and sold to players, fans and supporters, with the benefits donated for breast cancer research. Goal Click worked with three of these clubs – JUP (who founded the campaign in 2019), AS Monaco Football Féminin, and Manita – to document their teams during October and into 2021.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your football life?
Hi, we are Enora and Léa but in our soccer team we are called Eno and Lélé. We have been playing football for 10 years and we are currently playing in Plougonven with our club Jeunesse Unie Plougonven (J.U.P). We both started playing for a men's team since at the time there was not yet all this enthusiasm around women's football. The only difference between us is that Lélé did not start directly at J.U.P since she played 3 years of football in another town before coming to join the women's team of Plougonven. Our club was one of the first to set up a women's team in our region. In the first year, we had 7 players.
What did you try to show with the photos? Was there any wider meaning with the photos?
Some photos were taken during a home game where we wore pink jerseys in honour of the Pink October movement. However, the vast majority of photos were taken during our training, showing our teammates and our coach. We tried to convey our emotions as much as possible and particularly our good understanding within the team. We hope that through these photos we will be able to expose more people to Pink October or at least inform as many people as possible.
Are there any good stories connected with the people you photographed?
During the day we asked the girls to come to training with their pink kits so that we could take beautiful photos. However, we did not have the opportunity to do it before starting training so we had to take them at the end of a very physical training, as we can see with the colour of our cheeks.
Our favorite is during the middle of a warm-up and we can feel the pre-match excitement, just look at our big smiles. In addition, it is a very good memory since we were the team who won this match.
What are the opportunities for female footballers in France?
In recent years women's football has developed a lot in France. Now we don't have to look too far from home to find a team, which allows us to make the leagues bigger, more diverse and more interesting. The level of the teams has also improved. There are more and more schools specializing in sports studies that are creating women's teams. This therefore gives us more opportunities for progression and therefore a greater chance of being able to make a living from it later.
What does football mean to you?
When we think of football, we immediately think of the good memories of our past ten years. We also think about the feelings that we have felt during certain matches, in particular when we managed to beat teams which, before, were of a level much higher than ours. The tournaments that we were able to play and / or win are also great memories. When we think of football, we also think of a way to release the pressure, to let off steam after a long day of classes or work. But when we talk about football, we think above all about laughing, having fun with our oldest teammates as with the most recent. This is the spirit of football for us.
Why was it important for you and your club to get involved in the Pink October campaign with ALKÉ?
We find it very important to share and to inform on this subject which has remained taboo for a very long time in our society despite its seriousness. When our club offered us this collaboration for Pink October we did not hesitate because it was an excellent way to show this cause and to set an example for other clubs. We hope, moreover, that other sports associations will decide to get involved in this cause after having read our testimony.
How did it feel to play in the Pink October kit?
When we received our pink jerseys, we were pleasantly surprised because they are very beautiful. In addition, displaying them on the field made us very proud. They are witnesses to our involvement in a strong and important cause.
What is the future for French women's football?
We believe that the future of women's football is very promising but that it still has a lot of room for improvement. Indeed, the place of women's football in French society can only progress with our national team, which continues to improve and therefore motivate young girls to join a football club. We hope one day that women's football gets as much media coverage as men's football and that women end up earning the same wages as men.
Has anything changed since the 2019 WWC?
The Women's World Cup took place in France in 2019. Despite the fact that we did not win, the French still made it to the quarter-finals. Following this competition, there was an increase in female registrations in football clubs. It is therefore at this moment that we realize the importance of competitions and especially the media coverage. This is why we should not stop talking about it, so that women's football has more visibility and can develop even more.
Do you have a message for the next generation of girls who want to play football?
If we had a message for the new generation of girls who want to start playing football, it would be not to listen to people who say it is a "boys" sport and that they are not made to play it. Football, like any other sport, is as much for girls as it is for boys. You should not be afraid of the gaze of others or of defeat. Sometimes losing 3 times will allow you to better savour the victory of the 4th game. Don't be afraid to take the plunge.
