| Summary: | This thesis is a sociological study of young women's lives in Leon, Nicaragua, from the perspective of a female football team. In the historical context of the Sandinista revolution followed by the introduction of harsh neoliberal reforms in the 1990s, this thesis analyses the experiences and responses of a section of the population often overlooked in academic research and marginalised in Nicaraguan society. It examines how economic, political and social processes converge in the spheres of the household, paid employment, education, and on the football field, to shape the young women's experiences, opportunities, and choices. Furthermore, I analyse how these young women alternately conform to or resist these processes, the strategies they employ, and the implications for their futures. I argue that a new perspective of poverty is needed that is able to capture the complexity and precariousness of these young women's lives. Moreover, I argue that sport participation for these women can possibly transcend traditional female roles and result in new female sporting identities for young women in Nicaragua. In a country with the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Latin America, this group of young women - aged between 14 and 23 - are particularly of interest given none of the players are married or have children and instead state their intention to plan parenthood, for instance, after finishing education, establishing a career, or when 'fa situacion J (Nicaragua's economic crisis) has hopefully passed. Attitudes and conflicts which arise between the differing expectations of the players and family members provoke tensions that are often the result of economic scarcity and limited opportunities for work or study. Another contributing factor to these pressures is the frustrations of the players with what are more generally acceptable
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