Curacao's trailblazer doctor on football's big stage

One woman and 47 men: that is the gender split for head of medical staff at the men's 2026 World Cup.Dr Suzanne Huurman is only the third-ever female team doctor in the 96-year history of the tournament as head of medical staff for Curacao's national men's side - the World Cup's smallest-ever team by population and size. In 2010, Dr Celeste Geertsema worked with the New Zealand men's national team and became the first female doctor for a participating team at the South Africa World Cup, while Dr Silja Schwarz has been a team doctor for Germany men's side since 2023.

When Fifa explained to Dr Huurman she was the only female head of medical staff in the 2026 World Cup, she didn't think much of it. "I didn't realise in the beginning because it's so normal to be the only, or one of the few, women in the room."But I hope to see more women soon because there are a lot more women out there who are capable."

BBC Sport speaks to Dr Huurman around the challenges, the opportunities and what is needed to increase female representation in football.Brazil-born Dr Huurman has worked with Real Madrid, Go Ahead Eagles and PSV Eindhoven as well as being medical lead for the Netherlands Under-16 boys and doctor for the Dutch women's handball team.Curacao, a Caribbean island of about 158,000 people, is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is culturally Dutch-influenced but not a full sovereign state.

They qualified for the 2026 World Cup unbeaten, with seven wins and three draws.Dr Huurman is not intimidated by working in a male-dominated field although she explains there are challenges. "If you show them you're capable and you're good at what you do, then it's easy that they accept you because it's about quality and performing.

If they see you're capable and you have the same goals, it's straightforward," she said."But you have to prove yourself. It's hard to get in because in the beginning you always have a lot of people that say no, this cannot be possible.

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