'They are not interested': El Salvador women's national team speaks out over lack of support

As the final women's FIFA international window of 2024 rolls around, El Salvador will not play any matches or have a training camp. It is the second consecutive FIFA window where this has been the case.

On Tuesday, captain Priscilla Ortiz took to social media to voice her frustration with the federation. The 28-year-old defender was adamant that the players are hungry to represent their country. But their efforts are not being backed.

"Our goal is clear, but I think they are not interested at all," Ortiz said via a statement.

"We are a group of players who defend the blue team to the death, who sacrifice ourselves every day, who fight to build ourselves better and represent El Salvador in the best way because it deserves it. We love to play and defend the country, however, the lack of support saddens us. But even so, WE WILL STILL STAND FIGHTING."

Juana Plata, who plays her for Monterrey in LigaMX Femenil, also spoke out this week. She emphasized the lack of importance of the financial compensation when it came to the players desire to compete for El Salvador.

"We are one of the few who don't care about money, all we want is to represent our country," Plata said on social media. "This will be the second time in a row that we have been denied a FIFA date. How are we supposed to excel when these are the conditions we are given?"

Two consecutive FIFA windows without matches or camps will bring an unfortunate end to a breakthrough year for El Salvador. It feels like a step back for an emerging international squad.

In 2024, La Selecta was one of 12 nations to qualify for the inaugural 2024 W Gold Cup. Despite a valiant 3-2 defeat to Paraguay in their final match, El Salvador eventually exited at the group stage.

READ MORE: Heartbreak in Houston for La Selecta

Before that, El Salvador had impressed in 2022 during World Cup qualifiers. After a perfect start, it was only a 2-0 defeat to Panama, again in their final match of the group stage, that obstructed them from advancing to the next round.

Since 2022, El Salvador has risen from 117th to 90th in the world, the highest it has been in the FIFA rankings since 2017.

For the El Salvadorian federation to pull back on resourcing the women's team during FIFA windows is to hand the other nations an advantage. This is something highlighted by star forward Brenda Ceren, who plays for Atlas in Mexico.

"If it is for the women's team, the answer is always NO, it is sad to continue giving an advantage to direct rivals, all the teams are preparing and the Salvadorans are waiting," she wrote on social media.