Nike introduced the company’s latest addition to its “Play New” campaign, footballer Mara Gomez, who is the first trans woman to play in Argentina’s professional league.
Gomez, 22, didn’t start playing the sport when he was 15. She started playing for the country’s women’s league in December 2020, according to Adage.
In the 60-second ad, Gomez is seen practicing his soccer skills, practicing, laughing and flexing for the camera. The ad also features her discussing the impact sport has had on her life.
“Today, I am the first professional transgender player in Argentina,” she says. “And it wasn’t easy, because I didn’t have a role model to follow. So it’s my turn to open the door to future athletes.
At the end of the announcement, soccer balls fall like rain from the sky around Gomez, and “she watches in wonder, as if she sees the next generation that she will inspire”. Adage writing.
In a blog post for the publicity, Gomez says soccer has helped her cope with everyday situations.
“Football was good for me, it was an environment of distraction and emotional confinement. I saw that it could be a tool to overcome the barriers, the obstacles and the things that I went through on a daily basis, ”she says.
Gomez says his next challenge is to debinarize FIFA regulations. “And on a personal level, I would like to wear the colors of our country in a World Cup. And if it’s not with me, it doesn’t matter whether it’s with someone else, but let it happen, ”she said.
“Football is a visibility scenario where everyone can come forward. “
Nike’s “Play New” campaign kicked off over the summer and features athletes who have made history and who find pleasure in their sport.
Gomez’s inclusion in the campaign isn’t the first time Nike has featured a transgender athlete in an ad. Chris Mosier, the first trans athlete to compete for the United States Men’s National Team at the Olympics, appeared in a 2016 commercial for the company’s “Unlimited” campaign.
