Calatayud launched the first club of the firm in its place of origin, Bacalar, which had an arrival of 100 girls in the first training session. As of today, it has six clubs: three in Mexico and three in England.
Since its creation, Calatayud has worked with more than 3,000 girls and trained more than 150 coaches and trainers, mostly women. For next year, the firm plans to open its seventh club for next year in iztapalapaMexico City, aiming to expand as much as possible.
A study by the consulting firm EY highlights the intrinsic relationship between sport and professional growth. “We already know, for example, that participation in sport can help women break the glass ceiling and find a seat in the executive ranks”, adds the study.
Despite everything, women’s soccer does not generate the same impact as men’s. Proof of this is that the Women’s Soccer World Cup in 2019 left France, the host country, an economic spill of 284 million euros according to a report by its soccer federation. On the other hand, the last men’s Soccer World Cup in 2018, in Russia, left a spill of 14.468 million dollars, according to FIFA.
Although Calatalayud observes a greater interest in women’s soccer in recent years, he highlights that in Mexico and in the world, It is necessary to motivate the support generated by the masculine partiesboth in terms of spirit and in the field of investments and sponsorships.
“The next step is that at the society level, at the community level, Let’s start valuing soccer players the way men are valued, that we understand that if Mexico plays, it does not matter if it is the women’s or men’s team. It is the same emotion, it requires the same level of investment, from the federations, they require the same investment and the same attention. We need that change,” she adds.