Allison Swabi, global talent

Allison Swaby, 27, October, jersey number 17. A naturalized Jamaican American responds to the call-up for the Jamaican women’s national football team defender, the Reggae Girlz, in this year’s World 2 qualifier. At home in Kingston Town, she traveled the world for work: in just 5 years, a football player from Connecticut played in Iceland, in Rome, in Los Angeles and in Paris Saint-Germain, passing from the city of Fjardabygd to the fields of the French capital. However, the longest period was three seasons at the Tre Fontane stadium in Europe, where the women’s team, now led by Elisa Bartoli, is at home. And he just signed with Milan.

The news comes a few minutes before our interview, he smiles at the thought that in a few months this city will be his new home, and he does not even have time to visit it, because he arrives directly from Amsterdam, where Jamaica is in retreat. before leaving for Sydney. He lands in Linate and enters the field, where in front of a few journalists, two video cameras and children from the summer town, it seems that he is under more pressure than on the lawn of a world competition: he dribbles the ball between the cones, stops and laughs: “I don’t know, what should I do” and timidly kicks into the empty net. It would seem that there is nothing stranger than asking someone to do what he does best.

She tells us about her world and the changing sport: she is part of a generation that is watching the transformation of women’s football, in her case the luck and duty to do it actively. No longer just professional athletes: in recent years, female players have become role models, exemplary careers that boys and girls should follow. In the United States, this process began a few years ago, and the importance of women’s leadership in football is also evident in decisions such as the purchase of Natalie Portman’s Angel City, the Los Angeles club that Swabi played for from 2021 to 2023. Allison knows she represents the new voice of the sport and knows the weight of her choice.

Excited to be back in Italy after three seasons at Roma?

“Yes, I’m very happy to be here again, of course, I’m not exactly in Rome, but it still makes me nostalgic. It was a great time in my life.”

When did you realize that you wanted to become a professional soccer player?

“I think I always knew that, deep down. However, it may have been at this point that I dropped out of college to pursue my professional career solely as a national team athlete. I realized that I was truly happy when I played. With casualties, of course.

Explain better.

“It’s hard to drop everything and go abroad, obviously my life doesn’t allow me to see friends and family often, but at the same time I believe that the success that I get on the field and seeing that I am what makes me happy, is a reason for joy both for them and for me. This life includes choice, but also great satisfaction for everyone, and it’s worth it. In the end, the victim leaves behind situations that are not in line with the goals you want to achieve and the dreams you want to fulfill for yourself, in favor of my career in this case. And I’m lucky that there are people next to me who understand where I want to go.”

And what is your goal?

“Play while I can. I would like to reach a certain point when I look back and realize that I do not regret anything, that I lived everything to the fullest and with great happiness, without fear. And leave things better than I found them.”

What has been the happiest moment in your professional life so far?

“Definitely the first qualification for the World Cup, it motivated me a lot and changed my view of the game. It was great to play with the best teams in the world.”

And what about your personal life?

“Hmm.. I don’t really know, it’s a very simple question, but they are the hardest. A diploma comes to mind, but, more than happy, let’s say, I was very relieved (laughs, ed.). Definitely the happiest moment was when I returned home after my first trip away from home alone. Me, my parents and my friends have never been apart for so long. When I saw them again and realized that nothing had changed, that everything was the same as always, then I realized that I had overcome the most difficult obstacle.

Do you have an idol, a starting point?

“I don’t have a specific character. Or rather, let’s say everything related to football inspires me a lot. Professionals who compete in the most important world championships and I play together every day, this is by far the biggest inspiration. It’s not specific a person, but an all-round sport. One of the most inspiring things is to see that I still have a long way to go and that there is always a lot of room for improvement. Seeing this space between me and the lens, I can never be satisfied.”

The Italian song says: “You see a player by courage, altruism and imagination.” What characteristics do you think are important in a player?

“These are three important points, of course. Courage is a very powerful concept in football, but it also depends a lot on how you feel on match day, there is always a moment when it is difficult to find courage in yourself, when everything seems impossible. And then there is teamwork: it is true that the result comes first, but you always need to remember that there are 10 more people on the field, that there is no football without a group, and just like the team, to cheer you up if you fall . , you are also there for comrades. Creativity is a beautiful concept in football, it is what separates an amateur from a professional footballer, I find it beautiful. For me, another key feature is versatility. There is so much going on in life that it is very important to know how to react, so in that sense it is like being in a field where we are used to always reacting to what is happening in front of you. And, above all, it’s important to keep pushing, even if the match doesn’t go quite the way you would like or imagine.

Is there a difference between women’s and men’s football?

“I think sponsors and the media have invested in getting this out there, it’s all still very new to the public. In order for them to reach the same level, it is important that parity be achieved in the commercial sphere, only then people will also perceive it at the same level as in the men’s championship.

You played in Italy, do you think that football reflects the culture of your country?

“Of course, football is a mirror of how a country presents itself, it is a fundamental cultural and identity aspect. The Italian national team is known for their pride and it shows in the way they sing their national anthem before a match. We have music with us, a daily experience since we were little. The music accompanies the Jamaican women’s team I play for (also called reggae young woman, ed) at every moment of the game, and this is a reflection of our streets, where music sounds on every corner, it comes from the windows of houses, in the evenings people dance in clubs. We are always surrounded by music, even when we are playing.”

The Brazilian national team has just arrived in Australia with the faces of Masha Amiri and Amir Nasr Azadani painted on the team’s plane in support of the protests in Iran. Do you think football has any political power?

“I think that people of public importance, who have great fame, have an additional responsibility, and it is important that they feel it, in order to take people’s word, to take sides in the battles that they consider it right to defend. This is important for people who are less privileged than we are. So it’s even more important that players and characters in sight read, read, know what’s going on in the world, and take a stand. Social networks have a huge power in this, they raise awareness of people who follow us, share our values.”

For many years you played for Angel City, owned by Natalie Portman and America Ferrera. Women’s leadership is also a political act.

“When they come to watch us while we play and sit on the sidelines, it’s pretty surreal (laughs, ed.). When do you play when two actresses are sitting on the bench? I think what they are doing is amazing, they have decided to make Angel City FC management a woman. The team consists of women, for women inspired by women, this is a project that is also economically and commercially successful, it is very powerful. Equality also goes through this type of choice and is perceived by the public as a step towards change.”

Sportswear becomes a form of conquest in gender battles. What is the strength of football kit for you?

“Street fashion evolves with a society that continues and transforms, even physical references change, and that’s why it’s important that this sportswear has a place off the floor, because we see women and men in the same models. And in this sport also unites. And who would have thought that the team uniform would return like this? I love that 90s vibe.”

But the bodies of women and men are different.

“Yes, we finally understand that women have different physical needs. Look at Wimbledon, where women were finally allowed not to wear white underwear under their uniforms for obvious reasons. In sports, where there is also physical activity, it is important to feel at ease and be able to express yourself in every sense. After all, this is a world that evolves along with its public and professionals, each of which has its own needs, and it is important to satisfy them. And from his union with fashion, a very positive union is born.”

Is there anything you always carry with you when you play?

“I don’t have an object that is always with me, but let’s say a constant is my perfect nails. I really like to have a little crazy nails, it’s a way of expressing myself, and I really enjoy doing them.”

What would you say to your little girl?

“Have fun, love what you do, and do what you love, because as long as that’s the case, you’ll be in the right place.”