“Our mission is that girls get excited about football”

The facilities of Sant Cugat FC have hosted this Friday the colloquium ‘Women and Football‘ as the last act of the program of activities to commemorate the club’s 50 years of women’s football. The presentation was attended by the Barça coach, Jonatan Giráldez, the players from the Barça subsidiary who have already made their debut with the first team, Esther Laborde and Julia Bartel, and the captain of the Sant Cugat FC senior team and coach of the Juvenil B Female, Elisabeth Romero ‘Eli’. In the stands, the footballers of the women’s teams of the Catalan club and several of the pioneers who paved the way followed the debate and then participated in an entertaining round of questions where anecdotes and experiences were explained.

The Councilor for Catalan Safety, Sports and Animal Welfare of Sant Cugat City Council, Francesc Carol, and the president of Sant Cugat FC, Llorenç Santasusagna, They closed the event, moderated by the Mundo Deportivo journalist, Begoña Villarrubia.

Giráldez, which had just been renewed by Barça in the morning, stressed that “now the girls already have female references” and celebrated that Barça’s successes “are helping this sport grow and there are more and more federated women”. “The physical and technical evolution at Barça is improving every day and for our part it is a mission and a challenge to continue creating enthusiasm in the girls who want to play football”, she explained.

And he ruled that “acts like today’s are necessary to give visibility to women’s football and keep it growing. I come from a very small town in Galicia and I always say that all the townspeople help, that it’s up to everyone to contribute. I’m still a member of my town’s club because we all help with our resources.”

Esther Laborde He stressed that “my debut with Barça was very exciting for me, especially being surrounded by the best in Europe. I try to take advantage of my opportunity”. “My reference was Mapi LeonI dreamed of being like her, and I was able to play alongside her”, she celebrated. “Since I was little I’ve wanted to be a footballer and my parents have always supported me”.

For its part, Julia Bartel He pointed out that “I had to play with children and I was surprised every time I saw a women’s team, but now there are more and more”. Y ‘Eli’ He explained that “it is noticeable that there are more and more girls in the parks, schools…or girls who have never played before and now want to join the club. It is a huge change”.

The Sant Cugat FC has dedicated a year to celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s football at the club, a pioneer together with entities such as Barça and Espanyol in the creation of the First Women’s League by the Catalan Federation. The club has carried out various events in the form of colloquiums, exhibitions and a solidarity tournament for the event.