Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters
PARIS — Three years ago, long before Chile’s soccer team made its first appearance in a Women’s World Cup, it made news for an embarrassing reason.
In 2016, goalkeeper Christiane Endler and her teammates found out through news media reports that they had been dropped from FIFA’s official world rankings. The reason? Chile’s soccer federation had failed to schedule any activities for the women’s team for two years.
Unable to judge its performance on wins, losses or draws, FIFA simply declared the program “inactive.”
“I thought of walking away,” Endler said.
Now, only three years later, Endler, who plays for Paris St.