Girls United feature in new documentary film by COPA90 and Nike ‘The Architects of New Football’ as pioneers of inclusive football spaces.
“The idea at Girls United is that I’ll go to coaching sessions and work with them. It’s about giving girls skills and confidence.
“It’s super-important for girls to feel they can achieve anything. They have two really good hubs in Mexico and south London. We’ve had a few conversations about Scotland – it would be great to get something going in Dunfermline. I would love to be a part of that.”
A lo largo de cuatro años, Romina Calatayud Martínez ha trabajado con niñas y jóvenes de Bacalar y Chetumal con el objetivo de impulsar el fútbol femenil, promoviendo la equidad de género en el deporte y generar más oportunidades para las deportistas.
Desde hace un año, el Club Girls United arribó a Quintana Roo con el objetivo de promover el Fútbol Femenil, y brindar oportunidades a las niñas y jóvenes que quieren sobresalir eb este deporte.
According to the Women’s Sport Foundation: by the age of 14, girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys. The foundation identified several key factors behind this alarming statistic.
Social stigmas and issues of safety are severe hindrances to keeping young girls involved in physical activity.
There is also a huge gap in opportunities across genders. This problem begins in schools, where there are less chances for girls to be involved in team sport.
When they search elsewhere for this infrastructure, they often discover it’s too costly. If it even exists in the first place. Involvement in sport comes with a variety of health benefits, both mental and physical. This divide in accessibility needs to be eradicated.
To help tackle this issue, non-profit organisation Girls United has partnered with Nike. Together, they have launched a new initiative across London primary schools.
Love the Game aims to give girls, regardless of their background, a chance to play and fall in love with football. Through playing the sport, they will develop active lifestyles and feel empowered beyond the pitch.
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. Read the full story on the London FA website.
The Manchester City forward and Girls United ambassador hopes to highlight the game’s physical and social benefits. She has tried to make the most of the enforced break. “A real positive of lockdown is that players have had a bit of time to reflect and take a minute, without thinking about the game at the weekend or the next training session, and think about what’s important. It has for me anyway,” she says.
She has acted quickly. First, by becoming the 150th player to sign up to Common Goal, the organisation that commits players to giving 1% of their incomes to sporting charities. Now, she is being unveiled as a global ambassador for the innovative Girls United, which runs football programmes for girls in south London and Bacalar, Mexico, but with the wider remit of empowering girls with the confidence to embrace opportunities off the pitch.
Romina Calatayud, directora de Girls United dialogó en una amena charla con Fémina Fútbol
Antes de empezar, quisiera remontarme a una columna de un periodista colombiano que alguna vez escribió lo siguiente. “Una mujer que le guste el fútbol da miedo. A las mujeres con las que estuve las escogí siempre bajo los mismos parámetros: pelo negro, estatura media, buen cuerpo y unas completas ignorantes en el fútbol. Ver los partidos era mi tarea”.
Lee el artículo completo por DANIEL CHALELA
Mabel Velarde Coba dialogó con Fémina Fútbol en una amena entrevista con una conclusión: balompié con mirada de género.
En el fútbol femenino hay algo que queda claro en cada nación, evidentemente este balompié necesita de luchadoras que vean esta disciplina más allá de un simple deporte. Personas que quieran demostrar que el fútbol es para todo el mundo, un deporte sin género.
Founded on International Women’s Day in 2017 by 25-year-old Romina Calatayud, Girls United now has bases in England and Mexico and coaches from over 30 countries. “We started with about 100 girls in the southeast Mexican town of Bacalar, but now England is our global hub… We always look to go beyond the tactical or technical and give both players and coaches the tools to pursue life skills – and ultimately their dreams. We want happy footballers, but more importantly confident girls and women.”
Read the full article on the FA website written by Ben Jacobs
Melissa Camacho, a Girls United FA Mexico player, featured in Adidas' blog following an interview at the record breaking Equal Playing Field event.
We met with so many girls who had no real opportunities to practice sports and who faced harassment in their societies for wanting to play. We listened to their stories and we boosted their confidence on and off the pitch.
One of the many girls I spoke with was Melissa Camacho from the team Las Chicas Unidas in Mexico: ‘We do not have the same opportunities as the boys do. And here we all fight together for changing that. With real impact. It’s an honor to be here.’
Una enseñanza de vida dentro y fuera de la cancha
- Sección Amarilla
Hace dos años, Romina Calatayud fundó Chicas Unidas, una organización mexicana que nació bajo el enfoque de utilizar el futbol femenino como un punto de encuentro para unir experiencias, siendo el puente que empodere a mujeres y las inspire a ser líderes en nuevos horizontes dentro y fuera de la cancha.
En enero de 2017 la organización de Chicas Unidas se lanzó de manera oficial y se estableció tiempo después en México y en Reino Unido.
Mientras que para la sede británica se escogió Londres; en el caso de nuestro país, este club se asentó en el municipio de Bacalar, Quintana Roo; un pequeño paraíso ubicado al sur de la República mexicana.
“Nos encontramos con una realidad a lo largo del país en la que a los hombres se les brinda mucho más apoyo que a las mujeres en todos los niveles.”
Entrevista con entrenadores de Club Mexico, Féliz Pérez y César Granados, para dar a conocer los pormenores de la Copa de Futbol Chicas Unidas
Sporf teamed up with This Fan Girl to talk to inspirational women Changing The Game in football for International women’s day in 2018. Their feature included Girls United – have a look at this video created by them featuring our work, and exploring our mission and vision, and how we’re empowering young women and girls through football.
Thank you to Department of Coffee and Social Affairs for your support! Check out their Social Impact Report featuring Girls United.
Po-Nad-To Matters is showing ordinary people giving extraordinary support to their communities and creative children with great potential.
BETA: Levelling the playing field on and off the pitch: Belushi’s Bars teams up with Girls United
In case you missed it first time around, here is our interview on ESPN with English subtitles!
Thank you One Heart for sharing our project!
