Feride Guenes (inset photo), 16, from Vienna, Austria:
Soccer is seen as a man’s sport in Europe mostly, because when we see it on television — the European championship or the world championship in soccer — we only see the guys playing. The women’s championship is not shown on the television in Europe.
Recently I played soccer and I was the only girl playing with the boys. Everybody was like, “Wow, you want to play with the boys? And you’re the only girl?"
At first the other players were like, "Are you sure that you want to play with us?"
I played with them, and then they said, "Wow, you played good, and that’s cool."
Yeah, you definitely become self-confident participating in sports. You can say, "Look, I can play also."
Above, the Norwegian women’s soccer team celebrates during their match against the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.