Curacao's trailblazer doctor on football's big stage

Image source, Luigino Da Silva De JesusImage caption, Dr Suzanne Huurman supported the Netherlands team at the Paris 2024 Olympics 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. How can women work in a male environment? "With Curacao, the whole federation was completely male - no females, not only in the medical team but anywhere. We travel with 49 people - players and staff. I'm the only woman." Watch live as Ecuador take on Curacao in Kansas Oh, brother! The sibling rivals lining up for different World Cup teams Published50 minutes agoA 7-1 defeat but the Curacao fans are just happy to be there Published5 days agoWhat are the challenges? Dr Huurman studied medicine in the Netherlands in 2008 and she recounts the gender split on her course as female heavy. She said: "When I studied medicine, it was around 70-75% women and the rest were men. "I did my speciality in sports medicine in 2014 and then it skewed the other way - it was only 20-30% women. So it was in this [sport] speciality that I saw the difference." Female doctors did not support every squad at the 2023 Women's World Cup, with England and Sweden among the nations represented by male team doctors. When asked why there are so few female doctors working within football, Dr Huurman identified the 'always-on' culture as a barrier. She said: "It's not only your capabilities - if you're a good professional that's one thing, but it's the travel, the lifestyle which can affect your personal life. "If you have a family [or] you're pregnant, you will be out of work for a certain period – and you cannot time it perfectly with a professional football season. There must be someone who can cover. And that's hard as you want to be there for the team. "It's not only in football, but the whole elite sports world, which is demanding 24/7." Image source, Luigino Da Silva De JesusImage caption, Dr Huurman became the team doctor for the Curacao men's football team in 2026 Image source, Luigino Da Silva De JesusImage caption, Dr Huurman studied medicine in the Netherlands at Radboud University from 2008-14 Image source, Luigino Da Silva De JesusImage caption, Dr Huurman is an official match doctor for Fifa at international tournaments Image source, Luigino Da Silva De JesusImage caption, Dr Huurman completed a leadership programme with the Harvard Business School Previous imageNext imageSlide 1 of 4, Dr Suzanne Huurman , Dr Huurman became the team doctor for the Curacao men's football team in 2026End of image galleryWhat more can football do? In 2026, in an effort to accelerate change, Fifa introduced new rules, external for women's tournaments. The regulations state at least one member of medical staff must be female and at least one coach must be a woman. At the match between Curacao and Germany, for the first time in men's World Cup history, there was an all-female, external medical team - Fifa match doctor Dr Emma Lunan, Curacao head of medical Dr Suzanne Huurman, Germany team doctor Dr Silja Schwarz, emergency medicine doctor Dr C

Curacao's trailblazer doctor on football's big stage

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