This time, two weeks ago, I was in Bilbao for what would become one of my favorite weekends to be alive for. Being at the Women's Champions League final was a wholesome and unforgettable experience that renewed my hope, passion, and enthusiasm about The Good Football. It was a “ah, yeah, this is why I want to work for this” moment.
I sang, I danced, I chanted, I practiced my Catalan, I yelled ‘Visca El Barça’ to everyone I saw wearing a blaugrana shirt or accessory (which was A LOT of people), I celebrated, I met incredible women, I saw Pau Gasol, and I thought about a lot of things.
Today (better late than never, right?) I want to share three of these thoughts with you and hopefully send you off with a good read to start your weekend.
We got a front-row seat to watch The Good Football at play
I am not even talking about the high quality of the game, which was electrifying. The fact is that women's football and what I like to call ‘the good football’ are inseparable. The growth of women's sports positively impacts the industry, the economy, and uncountable lives - directly and indirectly.
Witnessing a record-breaking audience of 50k people fill a beautiful stadium to watch a stellar group of women playing football, seeing these women become protagonists after years of fight and struggle, spotting multiple girls wearing jerseys that read “Aitana,” “Alexia," or “Graham” on their backs, and many other tiny and big moments renewed my hope in the football which we love and makes the world around it better, not worse.
On top of that, we were surrounded by a diverse, inclusive, fun, and familiar crowd. The feeling I get is that the women's football table keeps getting bigger and bigger to always fit someone else. “Grab a chair, join us, and enjoy the party!” is the not-so-hidden message contained in this game. Not everyone gets it, but the ones who do get to participate in something really special while watching it become bigger than any and all the boundaries that used to contain it.
This is an expanding world
Women's football is not only making the world better but also bigger. Beyond all the record-breaking numbers, there is an unmeasurable expansion of every girl's world. Generations that did not know they could dream of being a professional football player, narrator, commentator, referee (God bless them), executive, club president, or even a fan who travels to watch her team play a European final now get to imagine and live, or witness them.
I grinned when I got a text from my dad saying he was watching the final all the way in Brazil. My love for football and our Seleção was learned mostly from him, and now I get to bring him to the world of women's football, too. Maybe it's not just the girls’ worlds that are expanding.
Women's football deserves even better
What we experienced on May 25th, 2024, was unquestionable proof that even though we are living through the golden era of women's football, the game, the players, and the fans deserve more.
I find it very hard to understand why the Barça Femení team still plays most of its games at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, which has a capacity of 6k and is located around 10km from the city center. If the current best women's team in Europe, which hauled 40k fans to Bilbao, doesn't deserve the main stage, I'm not sure who does.
If they are waiting for more demand, could they not be working to promote it instead? Sounds like a chicken-and-egg case, but here, a lot of us already understood which should come first. It looks like Arsenal is ahead in this game, for example.
This past season showed that the potential that lies in women's football is tremendous, and what is needed now is matching courage, boldness, and innovation to let them grow at the same pace that their world is growing.
THE GOOD LINKS:
🤓 This study suggesting that watching sports might be good for our brains.
🙌 This breakdown of FIFA's new policies around maternity leave, adoption, and menstrual health.
♻️ This new sustainable fashion brand. Hello again, Hector!
👏 This movie. Trust me, go watch it!
🎧 This podcast episode on Sokito, and football's carbon print.