"I feel the main reason I came to help Girls United is because we both want equality in the world. To change things, change mentalities, change souls and leave a footprint in the this world is something both myself and Girls United want.”
Mabel Velarde playing for Ecuador in the 2015 Women’s World Cup
Mabel Velarde is the newest addition to the Girls United family, joining our Mexico Club as Project Manager. Coming from Quito, Ecuador, Mabel has not only had an incredible footballing career but a passion for revolutionising women's football.
She played professionally in the USA for 5 years and for the Ecuadorian national team for 10 years, representing Ecuador in the Pan-American Games, South American Games and the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.
Passionate about expanding the field of study on the physiology of female athletes, the Ecuadorian national has been studying fitness preparation, functional training, anatomy and physiology with the goal to transform the whole training system in women’s football. She is also immersed in the study of Ayurveda, Conscious Nutrition, Tantra and Menstrual Cycle Pedagogy to inform the effect of female biological processes on sports training.
“Girls United is showing me that we need to keep connecting more people to help each other in every single country and spread equality throughout the world!”
In 2014 she opened her own academy in Quito-Ecuador to give women and girls the space needed to empower themselves through football. Mabel then went on to take an esteemed position at the Juventus academy programme where she spent 2 years working towards gender equality by developing their mixed-gender football programme.
Mabel is now with our Girls United team in Bacalar, Mexico - working to develop our upcoming projects with her knowledge of women's football on the global stage and engaging young players, coaches and pro-players alike.
