Glory can often be accompanied by pain. Pain that no one sees behind the curtains.
That is the case of Marta Cox. The 25-year-old Panamanian has become a rising star in women’s soccer in recent years, but she hasn’t been all rosy.
Cox, a native of Panama City, was born in 1997. Her first spell with the Panama women’s national team came with the Under-17 team in 2011, when she was 14 years old. Her talent had been evident and she had been growing for some time, and she made her debut with the Panamanian senior team in 2013, five years before her professional debut in 2018 with the Colombian team Deportes Quindío.
In July 2021, Cox signed with Club León of the Liga MX Femenil, making her the first foreign player to join the team. Now with Liga MX side Pachuca at the club level, Cox made significant strides for her country by helping them qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. It is the first time in the history of this team that they will compete in the quadrennial tournament, with the men’s team making its World Cup debut in 2018.
It’s been a positive five-year span for the nation in that regard, with Cox playing a pivotal role for the women’s team, including a World Cup qualifying goal from Chile that ultimately helped them become the nation’s 32nd and final to qualify for the tournament hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Qualifying for the World Cup has been an important personal achievement for Cox, and even more so for Panama. Now that she is in the tournament, she wants to emphasize the importance of investing in women’s football.
“For me, it’s already taken the blindfold off a lot of people,” Cox said on NBC and Telemundo’s “Mi Mundialista Favorita” podcast.
“I think a lot of companies too… aren’t afraid to invest in women’s football because there really is talent. In other words, it fills the player’s expectation that he feels supported in this way, that he can say that the League in Panama is growing,” he added.
Qualifying for the World Cup also helps the development of the players. Instead of having to go elsewhere in search of better opportunities to develop as a player, rising youngsters can stay in Panama and grow soccer.
“It’s not like I have to leave Panama to grow,” Cox said. “No, because today we are putting our country on high.”
But while Cox helped make his country proud in an immense way, behind the glory was a lot of pain. Specifically, Cox suffered the death of his mother, a relationship he described as “beautiful.”
“The relationship that I had with my mother before she died…it was very beautiful, it was very pleasurable,” Cox said. “My mom has always been there for me and until now I will always carry her in my heart.”
But Cox also found solace in how much she gave back to her mother throughout her life.
“I know that in life I gave everything to my mom and with that I am calm and I will always be calm.”
Cox said she couldn’t necessarily turn to her father either, since he’s in prison. She hasn’t seen him in four years, and her mother’s death occurred almost a year ago.
She described her relationship with her father as not “so extensive” due to their separation, so much of her life has been a story of “getting over”.
Having to navigate the road to a successful women’s soccer career in Panama without extensive parental support of late has certainly been a challenge for Cox, but she will continue to be there for her father despite the distance.
“I mean, I love him, I support him in the best way,” Cox said. “I will always talk about how beautiful he is, because I feel that he has been a good father and my mother too, but today she is not here and she will have to take the flag that my mother left to be my support.”
“I think my father will do everything for now and he will continue to do everything and as long as he is alive I know he will do the best he can for me.”
Now, Cox is preparing to represent Panama in a group made up of Brazil, France and Jamaica. It will be an arduous task to advance beyond the two Top 10 nations that make up her group, Brazil and France, but Cox is more ready than ever to represent her country.
Get to know the United States defense in the “My Favorite World Cup” series. One important note: This episode was recorded before Sauerbrunn’s injury was announced.
“This is happiness,” Cox said. “But for me it is a privilege to carry the flag of my country on my chest and to be at a World Cup surrounded by the best teams in the world. I think it’s the best thing that could have happened to me in my career because getting to a World Cup is not easy, it’s quite difficult. But being there it is time to enjoy it”.
Listen to the full talk with Panamanian star Marta Cox on NBC and Telemundo’s “Mi Mundialista Favorita” podcast, here.
