More than a dozen young people gather in the small locker room. Two rows of seats. A large part of them of gypsy ethnicity belong to the La Mina neighborhood (Sant Adrià de Besòs, Barcelona). But they have something that unites them: their passion for football and the opportunities it offers them. Now they are getting rid of the stigmas and cultural barriers in what is the first federated women's team in the neighborhood within the Tramontana club. With its founder, Toni Porto, following them from the sidelines, fighting to get sponsorships and shouldering the players' expenses. The team was born, in extremis, in September, and could not play the first game because they did not have the chips ready. Although the majority are teenagers, they play 7-a-side soccer as an amateur, since some are older and even mothers. “We are warriors and fighters,” they say. This is how they are defined. And how they play.
For Toni and the young women, the club breaks stigmas and creates opportunities. “This is a great advance. Seeing gypsy girls and adolescents playing soccer and having their families support them is a very important task,” says Alba Blanco (28 years old), one of the team's veterans. She is a mother, and she came from León to study and work. Although she stayed for love. She is now a social educator, and she has become the team's goalkeeper after playing handball all her life.
A clear figure stands above the locker room: coach Elisabeth Navarlaz (38 years old). She moves energetically from side to side. She encourages, teaches and educates. And the young women trust her. “I have played soccer all my life. Always outside, since there has never been a club in La Mina. And now I am helping these girls who have never had the opportunity,” she confesses, smiling.
The Tramontana club emerged 23 years ago in La Mina with Porto, with a clear objective: “Get kids off the streets. It's always been that. Teach them education through sports,” says the founder while he observes the training of the first female team on one side, and a younger male team on the other. With 11 teams and more than 200 children, the neighborhood demanded to go one step further.
“Last year they did a sports project for gypsy girls. We tried several, but we all liked soccer,” explains Emilia Moreno (15 years old), without a hint of shyness. “I left school when I was 11, and now I am returning to it. Soccer helps you establish a routine and focus,” adds the young woman. “Here, those who don't study stay at home helping. Playing sports motivates you, and helps you feel more valued,” she confesses.
Emilia has always lived in La Mina. She was part of a small team that formed in the neighborhood. She and she were one of the first to whom Toni communicated her intention to take another step. “I saw that they were forming a group, but they only played among themselves. And I proposed to them to set up a team, to break molds in the neighborhood. We started with few players, but we are increasing,” explains Porto, happy, about the decision to create the team.
Toni shows a photograph in the trophy room. In it, about twenty children, and among them, a girl. “It was in 2000. She was the only girl in the entire club, and she played with the Benjamins. Now we have her son with us,” explains Porto. Since then, everything has changed for women's football. Samara Leria (15 years old) had always played in the street. But she stopped doing it: “They called me a tomboy.” Something similar happened to Laia Ramos (17 years old). Soccer runs in her family: her father is a coach in the neighborhood, and for as long as she can remember, she has played with him. “I have always chosen to have a ball between my legs rather than skating or dancing. I was the only one, and they laughed at me. Now I have company, I am free and I am at peace with the people around me,” adds the young woman.
“There are many comments that it is frowned upon for gypsy girls to play soccer. We were very late. Our customs are a little strict, but we are beginning a new era. We are breaking walls,” says Toni, who came from Cádiz to La Mina as a young man in search of opportunities, and stayed to start a family. “It is necessary for them to see themselves in a sporting environment, to get together, and to get out of the neighborhood and meet people and other places,” adds Alba before going out to train.
Wednesdays and Fridays they meet at eight at night to train. Illuminated by spotlights that slightly illuminate the field, some fathers cheer on their daughters from the sidelines. Ester Gómez (16 years old) stands out among them. She is just as agile with the ball as she is in front of the recorder. Now she combines her passion — she has been playing since she was four years old — with high school. “It's difficult to organize myself. But for me football is commitment, values and goals. It is a means to challenge yourself,” says the young woman, smiling. With the Brazilian Marta Vieira as a reference, she dribbles and shoots with power.
The last to arrive at training and put on their boots are the twins Alejandra and Claudia Martín (18 years old). The second has been encouraged to come to the club by the insistence of her sister and comments about the good atmosphere. “There is union and camaraderie. It is the first team in which I feel comfortable,” explains Claudia. And every time, there are more. “Now there is a lot of quarry in La Mina. They have more references, and they want to do the same as them,” says the coach.
The big problem for the club is financing. “It is a neighborhood with a lot of need. Many people cannot afford to pay a token or a fee,” Toni recalls. He, being in charge of the players' expenses, is having a hard time coping. “We need a company to give us a hand. I have managed to get them to have the equipment, a tracksuit and to buy material. But we didn't arrive. The federation issue is a fortune: each token costs between 120 and 130 euros, and the arbitration between 70 and 80,” laments Toni. From the City Council, the help they receive is small, and in no case, sufficient.
But Toni, the family members and the young soccer players trust in the project. “It is complicated, but not impossible,” says the founder. “If they continue like this, and they put their mind to it, even though they have just started, they can do something this year,” he adds as he watches them training, with affection, and with hope.
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