Global Fútbol

It has been calculated that the sports industry in Spain employs 98,700 women. This figure, taken at the end of the third quarter of 2023, is the second-best tally in this sense if looking back at the records which began in 2011, only surpassed by the 112,400 women in 2021. The current figure also represents a 44% increase in female employment in sport compared to a decade ago, according to statistics from Spain’s Labour Force Survey for the third quarter of 2023 and collected by 2Playbook.

The presence of women in the sports industry, specifically in professional football, has been growing in recent years, thanks to a series of policies developed to support diversity, equality and inclusion. In this context, the connection between LALIGA and Liga F has played a key role, encouraging professionalisation and structures in which women can feel well-supported if they decide to play sport professionally. There are currently 12 LALIGA clubs with professional teams in Liga F.

LALIGA clubs’ support for women’s football has helped lead, among other things, to 330 professional female players in Liga F this season. There is a pyramid effect, which translates into more than 92,000 women playing football, which is twice as many as a decade ago.

Women in sport, beyond the playing field

Women are also continuing to gain prominence in the world of football beyond the pitch. The level of representation in organisations such as LALIGA highlights the progress achieved. For example, 37% of the LALIGA Management Committee are women. In total there are seven female directors on this committee, a significant figure if taking into account that the average for IBEX 35 companies is 16.5%, according to data published in the Second 2023 Report of Women in key positions in IBEX 35 companies.

Across Spanish professional football, of the 41 clubs that make up LALIGA EA SPORTS and LALIGA HYPERMOTION, there are four female presidents: Marián Mouriño (RC Celta), since 2023; Layhoon Chan (Valencia CF), across two spells, from 2014 to 2017 and since 2022; Sophia Yang (Granada CF), since 2022; and Amaia Gorostiza (SD Eibar), since 2016. With the exception of the latter, who has been in office for eight years, the rest of the female presidents have assumed these positions in their clubs inside the past two years, which is evidence of a very positive change.

Speaking about this, Valencia CF president Layhoon Chan pointed out: “The increasing role of women in this world is very positive and important for the development of the sport.” She also reflected on the greater resources and guidelines aimed at improving gender equality and added: “We are witnessing an increase in women’s participation in football. This covers playing and coaching, as well as roles in management and leadership positions.”

Chan continued: “Women bring unique skills, perspectives and talents into the game and can enrich both on-pitch performance and off-pitch dynamics. While we still have a long way to go, I am delighted to see more and more women reaching high-profile positions in the world of football and especially in our LALIGA community.”

Granada CF president Sophia Yang spoke about her experiences and said: “At our club, we share a true collective spirit as we support our women’s teams. We are deeply committed to continue developing a solid project for women’s football, together with fans, media, sponsors and LALIGA. Thanks to the tireless work of all the people dedicated to women’s football at our club, Granada CF Femenino have enjoyed enormous success in recent years, improving both in sporting terms and in terms of popularity.”

Yang added: “We must continue to support professional women footballers, to better protect young women footballers and to encourage more women to take on leadership positions in clubs and other sporting organisations. We also need to look after women footballers more carefully in a financial sense, with policies and strategies in place to tackle financial vulnerability.”

The president of RC Celta, Marián Mouriño, also spoke about the growing role of women in sport, which is breaking down gender barriers, defying stereotypes and becoming more and more widespread. She said: “Women’s presence, interaction and success in football has changed the way in which the sport is viewed, making it a more open, dynamic and social sport. There has been an increase in gender diversity in different social areas, which I believe is necessary and enriching for our community.”

Finally, the president of the Vigo-based club stated: “We are proud that women are taking on more and more leadership roles in areas that were previously restricted, such as football, as this sport plays a fundamental educational role among boys and girls. It is both a privilege and a responsibility to be a role model for young girls, so that they dare to dream and know that anything they set their minds to can be achieved. We still have a long way to go, but we can already see in society the effects of this struggle that has been going on for years.”