Roxy, national futsal referee

Roxana Rodríguez Martínez is a 20 year old young woman, a student of Journalism at the University of Matanzas, with dreams and goals in life, which many see as crazy and impossible, however, she has been able to fight for her aspirations, especially in the world of soccer.

Martinez says that her passion for this sport began when she was in elementary school: «Since I was between third and fourth grade every afternoon I left school straight to a neighborhood that is not mine, to my cousins’ house, there I played with the boys, with them I learned». She sees herself as a hyperactive person and sees playing soccer as a way to let out the energy she has inside her.

«I was never in a women’s team, I only played with a friend of mine, it was her and me, but when I went to Havana, they told me that there were several girls who played and I have realized that women’s soccer in Cuba has been growing, although I think that in Matanzas it is not currently developed,» says the young woman born in the municipality of Cardenas, Matanzas province.

Roxana expresses that she was always afraid of facing the entrance exams and decided to study a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, due to the advantages over other careers when opting for it, because in the midst of the affectations by the Covid-19, the Ministry of Higher Education and the governing bodies of Journalism in Cuba, decided that it was only necessary to pass the aptitude tests and they did not have to take entrance exams.

At the University of Matanzas there is a strong movement of indoor soccer, especially in the afternoons, in an outdoor field, which has the conditions created for the practice of this sport. At the beginning of her life at the university, Roxana approached it little by little. The first few weeks, due to stage fright, she only watched how the opposite sex played, until she decided to take part and surprised many for her technique, especially for being a woman among so many men, she broke a barrier and today she is known as the girl who plays soccer.

The young girl knew how to move in a different world, where perhaps no other would have had the courage, so she got to know the teachers of the Physical Education department, especially the one affectionately called «Papucho», who instilled in her a lot of knowledge and showed her the possibility of being part of a refereeing course, since as a soccer player she saw very few possibilities due to the obstacles of the sport in the female branch.

Despite Roxana liked the game more than watching it from the outside, she decided to face the challenge: «I took an international course in Havana, they gave me theoretical and physical tests, three of the latter were done, I passed two and failed the last one because the level requested was very high, but I learned a lot».

The official debut as referee seemed to have been taken out of a movie: «I found out half an hour before the match, the main referee told me that there were no more referees and I had to whistle with him, I had been practically disconnected for four months, I asked «Papucho»: What do I do, refresh my memory there, he told me to calm down because I knew everything, we reviewed a little bit and I started the match well, I became more confident as time went by».

That day she was seen by the commissioner and the best of Cuban refereeing, who were amazed with the performance of the young girl despite pointing out her faults for her future improvement. «Refereeing consists of daily practice, whistling as many games as possible and accepting criticism in order to improve», says Roxana.

Roxy, as she is called by those closest to her, knows what she faces, especially due to the obligatory seriousness of each game. She also understands that she must maintain her position as the authority she represents and her decisions must be respected: «The players, when you call a foul because of the dynamics of the game usually complain, the game forces you to present different behaviors to be able to face these situations. For example, one time an athlete came towards me, confronted me, called me a bully and shook me; in response I gave him a yellow card, at the end of the game he came to apologize to me. These are normal situations when tempers flare».

As a child, her family was not very supportive, and she even played without her parents’ knowledge. Today they are a driving force and support her with their decisions, especially in her foray as an indoor soccer referee. Her greatest gratitude goes to Pablo Silvio Campos «Papucho», who has made her name known in the world of Cuban futsal and always encourages her to move forward.

Roxana is an example that when you want to, you can, it is only necessary to set a goal, an objective and fight against the obstacles that appear on the way.

Written by Alejandro LópezQuintero.