I am not only talking about the highest professional level that Mexico has, which would be the LigaMX Femenil, but also any initiative that allows soccer to be a vehicle for women to develop. And it is not a question of a discourse of equality or a passing fad. It is about a new awareness of the role of an entire society on certain issues that were not considered 10 years ago, such as everything related to the LGBTTTIQ + community.
The issue of sacrificing a woman to have the opportunity to play the sport that she is passionate about is almost over. Anchoring the messages to the problems of the past is only a “perpetuation”, the way today is to generate the infrastructures (physical and social) that allow the accelerated growth of opportunities and close the gaps that still exist. And this is where brands come in.
Although there are efforts by some, we still do not have this brand that has “appropriated” the message, that has taken up the flag and that in general, is recognized as the one that is giving the impulse that women in sport require. The opportunity is there, waiting.
I remember with great admiration that great campaign by Barbie (Mattel), where it was expressed that “when a girl plays with Barbie, she imagines everything she can become”, and the time of the “Plastic Girl” culminated to give way to a re-meaning that what Barbie represents. The same in sports, in football. Brands have the great opportunity to give it that new interpretation connected to the values of sport and the passion it generates.
I leave you some data taken from the official site of LigaMX. It is important to take into account the capacity of the stadiums, but in the Men’s LigaMX Final, adding the assists from the round-trip matches, 73,061 fans were witnessed as Atlas broke a title drought. The Expansion League finals (the second men’s professional level) had a record of 26,358 fans, while 70,839 fans were in the final of the Women’s LigaMX. Impressive! Something is happening.
It is time to believe, create and bet on women’s soccer. Like everything, it depends on how well you do it, how you make the effort and obviously with what remains we know: a strategy with clear and defined objectives. Here the efforts that come from the clubs themselves, the media – who will be the brave one who dares to broadcast them regularly on Open Television? -, content generators and sponsoring brands so that the actions gain strength, become a virtuous circle in which everyone achieves their goals.
This is a train that started and is leaving. Time to board.