MADRID, 25 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The duels between Athletic Club and Real Madrid, and between Alhama CF El Pozo and Atlético de Madrid, will make up the semifinals of the ‘Final a Cuatro’ of the Copa de la Reina 2022-2023, which will be held at the Estadio Butarque de Leganés (Madrid) between May 23 and 27.
The match between the Murcian team, current penultimate place in the Finetwork Liga F and revelation of the tournament, and the colchonero, the only one who knows what it is to lift the title of the four, will be on Tuesday the 23rd at 9:00 p.m., while the team from Biscay and the Real Madrid player will face each other a day later at the same time. The winners will play for the title on Saturday 27 at 10:00 p.m.
The Atlético midfielder Maitane López acknowledged that, as a Murcian by birth, it was going to be “a special match” and that they had no favorite opponent in the semifinals because “any match is complicated”. “We are Atlético and we are going to fight to win the title, the team is very eager and we are going to give it our all,” she said.
For her part, Raquel Pinel, forward of Alhama CF, assured that they do not put a “ceiling” and that they will go to Leganés with “great enthusiasm”. “The club has already made history and the people have made history with us. We are going to continue bringing the cupbearer spirit to Leganés and we are confident in the work we have been doing this year, we are going to leave our souls behind,” she indicated.
Athletic Club striker Ane Azkona recalled that the Copa de la Reina is a title that “resists” the club, a double finalist, and that arouses “great enthusiasm”. “Any rival was going to be difficult. Real Madrid is having a very good season, but in the second round there they beat us by the minimum and it cost them. We are going to prepare it with great enthusiasm”, she admitted.
“We are in a club in which taking this trophy is an illusion and an enormous motivation because we would make history. We are having a better season in numbers than last and we hope to make an effort and take it home. We have to try to give our best to reach the final “Replied Real Madrid midfielder Claudia Zornoza, who hopes to be with the team “soon” after her fibula injury a few weeks ago.
Also present at the draw was the president of the RFEF, Luis Rubiales, who assured that they want this ‘F4’ “to be a success”. “We want the field to be full in the final and hopefully people will also come in the semifinals,” he wished.
“From the federation we are doing everything on our part so that women’s football continues to grow and we already have practically 100,000 licenses when we were around 40,000 when we arrived and I am convinced that soon we will be between 125-150,000. Let’s see if Together we are capable of getting girls hooked and continue to have their idols in women soccer players and women’s teams,” she added.
The mayor of Leganés, Santiago Llorente, also hopes that the ‘F4’ will be a success. “You have to support women’s football. Leganés is very close to the center of Madrid, 10 kilometers away and you can get there quickly by any means of transport,” he said.
“Butarque must arrive in the semifinals and in the final, I invite all the people of Madrid and especially the Leganenses to come out and support the four teams. For us it is wonderful to host this Copa de la Reina for the second time, as already We have some experience, I’m sure it will turn out great,” warned the councilor.
THERE WILL BE VAR AND THE SAME MEDALS PROTOCOL AS IN THE COPA DEL REY
The main novelty of this ‘Final Four’ cup will be that in its final there will be for the first time in a match of a national women’s competition that there is a VAR system, while the clubs also agreed that the same system should be followed at the medal ceremony protocol than the one that will be applied in the final of the Copa del Rey on May 6 in La Cartuja.
In this way, as indicated by the RFEF and after the controversy that arose during the ceremony of the last Women’s Spanish Super Cup, the captains will go up to the authorities’ box to receive the trophies, while the medals will be delivered to the delegates of the finalists to to distribute them conveniently among the players.
Finally, the federation also confirmed that the singer from Malaga Ana Mena will be in charge of entertaining the fans who come to Butarque the hours before the final for the title.