Romina Calatayud, Founder and CEO of Girls United, explains the club’s ethos and what has led to their decision to begin the Black Coaches Matter programme.
“… Since we began in 2017, we have developed our club and coaching philosophy focusing on three pillars: Explore, Inspire, and Empower. On the pitch, this translates into what we call Coaching to Empower – allowing a coach to become a guide for players to fulfil their potential as individuals and as a team. For me personally, throughout the journey of setting up the organisation and working with girls and women in different countries, from different backgrounds, one of most exciting things about shifting the coaching methodology towards empowerment has been challenging traditional football environments, in order to reach those girls who haven’t previously felt welcome or represented.
These barriers could be due to negative stereotypes propagated by friends and family; not feeling comfortable or confident with your body; social pressure telling you what your interests should be or the lack of visibility to relatable role models – and these barriers increase for black females and females from ethnic minorities. So, when we understand these barriers and strive to create inclusive spaces that break them down, we can see individuals from all backgrounds thrive and become their inspiring, game-changing selves.”