It is impossible to ignore the emotion that comes flooding out of Kenia Rangel when she talks about the first FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™.
The 30-year-old plays football for Costa Rican club Alajuelense, but her heart has always belonged to futsal. She’s acutely aware that Philippines 2025 is not about her or her team-mates, but rather the young Panamanian girls who’ll be watching them play later this year.
Rangel speaks to FIFA about which of the two sports she prefers, Panama’s qualification for the global finals and being a role model.
Kenia Rangel: The girls who are in Panama are training and keeping in shape. My other team-mate who plays abroad is also training. As for me, I’m here with Alajuelense playing 11 v 11, so I’m staying fit until when the list comes out and they call me.
In 11 v 11, you prepare yourself differently when it comes to movement and strength and things like that. But I’ve spent my whole life playing futsal in addition to 11 v 11, so I think I adapt very well to futsal with what I do in 11 v 11. I have more than enough to play futsal, and it works well for me.
I like both, but I’m more inclined to futsal. I really like futsal because you grow up with it with in your neighborhood. When I started to play futsal, there was not a women’s league, so I got used to playing with boys. In our neighborhood they would come to the house looking for me to play, so I grew accustomed to it.
It really means a lot. I think it’s a dream come true for all the girls who grew up playing in their neighborhood and wanted their own national team. It’s crazy that in our first attempt we qualified for the World Cup. It’s so exciting and was the best thing for us, because it’s the dream we’ve all had since we were girls.
It was a mix of emotions. There was a lot of joy, a lot of crying. It was something that we had fought for in the little time that we could prepare. We focused on always going step by step and when we got the semi-final, we set a goal on getting to the final and reaching the World Cup.
We are going to go and do our very best. We know that we haven’t been able to train very much, but we are going to show what each of us has to offer from our futsal backgrounds. Plus we have the help from our coaches. It’s exciting. It’s the first Futsal Women’s World Cup, we qualified for it, and will be going there to be a part of history. We feel very happy and proud to be there.
Brazil. I would really love to play against them.
Because I watch videos of them – ones that are on Tik Tok or Instagram – and I really like what Brazil do, how they touch the ball, how they move. It’s incredible watching them and to see how far one can go and what other teams do. For me, it’s really exciting.
I have many team-mates who like to work with children. They are in pre-schools or elementary schools. There is another who works with the police. But apart from that, they are all studying. It’s a really nice group, we have great goals and that is going to take all of us very far.
It means a lot. They’ve been following me since I’ve been playing 11 v 11, and so for them to see me play futsal and say that they want to be like one of us someday, it brings us so much pride. To show them that, with sacrifice and discipline, you can go very far and be like us or be even better than us, it makes all of us proud.
It’s growing at all levels and that’s really good. We have players who are going to other countries to play and show their talent, and that opens doors to many other players who follow. To be able to get to a World Cup – whether it’s men’s or women’s, youth, futsal or whatever – says a lot about the country. It says a lot about the sport, and all of the efforts everyone is making and the coaches who take part.
Yes, it is going to be the first time I’ve gone to any place like that. And I’ll have my heart full and my happiness high. It’s the first World Cup and it doesn’t matter if it’s far or close. We’re all going into it with so much happiness. We’re there to work hard, but also enjoy what we are doing.
I really can’t tell you, but I know there will be a lot of feelings. To hear your anthem in a qualifier is everything, but now to hear it in a World Cup will be a whole other emotion. I wouldn’t know how to explain it. But I know I will be thinking of my mother, who is no longer with me, but she always wanted to see me triumph. That’s the most important thing.
Photos courtesy of Concacaf
