VANCOUVER – An hour before the first FIFA Women’s World Cup match at BC Place, a group of Ecuadorian fans chant “Sí se puede, sí se puede” (which translates roughly to “Yes we can, yes we can”) in front of TV cameras from Telemundo, one of the largest TV networks in Latin America.
“They have only had an official women’s league in Ecuador for something like three years, so to be in the World Cup is a big achievement,” said Christian Basantes, who was born in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito and has lived in Vancouver for more than a decade.
Basantes says that interest in the women’s game is growing in Ecuador, but most football fans back home are focusing their attention on the upcoming Copa América, the biggest men’s soccer tournament in South America.
That’s not the case for Vancouver’s small Ecuadorian community.
“The consulate told me there is something like 150 to 200 Ecuadorians here. I think I’ve already seen more than 50 of them here today,” said Basantes.
Twenty minutes later, Yoshi Shirakaki of Japan poses for a photo with a group of rival Swiss fans ahead of the second match of the day between Japan and Switzerland.
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Shirakaki was born in Japan but lives in Calgary and flew to Vancouver to watch the defending Women’s World Cup champions.
He says the women’s team’s win at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup holds a special place in the hearts of the Japanese people.
“Four years ago we had the big earthquake in Japan,” he said. “Three months after the earthquake, Japan’s national women’s team won this title. Since then, the women’s national team has been very popular.”
The crowd for the first match at BC Place was sparse but colourful, with Basantes and his compatriots wearing canary yellow, Japanese fans wearing Samurai Blue, Swiss fans clad in red and white and Cameroon fans sporting yellow and green.
Cameroon 6 – Ecuador 0
Cameroon was the first international team to arrive in Canada for the Women’s World Cup, asking FIFA for permission to come to Vancouver almost three weeks before the tournament. They clearly felt at home, beating Ecuador 6-0 in the first match of the day at BC Place.
Cameroon dominated throughout the early stages of the game and finally beat goaltender Shirley Berruz when Madeleine Ngono Mani scored in the 34th minute, a goal that was followed by an elaborate dance celebration from the Cameroonian players.
Gaelle Enganamouit scored her first of three goals two minutes later and captain Christine Manie converted a penalty in the 44th minute to give the Lionesses three goals in 10 minutes.
Any chance of an Ecuadorian comeback was extinguished in the 66th minute when captain Ligia Moreira was issued a red card. She will sit out Friday’s match against Switzerland.
With their opponents a player down, Cameroon netted three more goals–Enganamouit scored twice and Gabrielle Onguene scored her first of the match.
Cameroon will face Japan at BC Place on Friday.
In the final match of the day Aya Miyama converted on a penalty kick in the 29th minute to lift Japan to a 1-0 win over Switzerland.
Japan will next face Cameroon.
-with files from Canadian Press
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