Women’s football, Cappelletti: “Spain is our model”

“A new beginning”: it was the title chosen for the meeting with some protagonists of Italian women’s football. A new beginning, because the president of the FIGC women’s football division is new compared to last season: Federica Cappelletti has taken the place of Ludovica Mantovani. The coach is also new, Andrea Soncin, who inherited the national team bench from Milena Bertolini last September. With them and with the Milan players Valentina Bergamaschi (the captain who just yesterday against Como reached 100 appearances in Serie A) and Angelica Soffia we talked more about the present and the future than about the past, to start again after the disappointment world. And the Region hall was also full for this new event within the festival dedicated to girls’ football, now a classic in the programme. “I had no hesitations in accepting the role of coach because the blue shirt is the blue shirt. These girls, from what I saw in these first two games under my guidance and also in many others that I watched on video, have technical and human values ​​that will come out. The qualities are there, the gap can be filled even in a not too long time.” “My first wish would be to no longer hear about women’s and men’s Milan and the women’s national team. We are a unique club, we are a team. I would like to see the gender distinction overcome,” added Bergamaschi, one of the senators who returned to the team after being excluded from the last World Cup.

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Some progress has been made, however, assures Angelica Soffia. “I am a few years younger than Valentina, but since I joined the first team at a very young age I didn’t experience any big differences compared to her. Instead, I notice those that are there for the girls who are making their way now: they have structures and attention from the clubs that couldn’t even be dreamed of a few years ago.” And now another acceleration is possible: Federica Cappelletti believes in it. “The funds to work and expand the base are arriving and will arrive, today for the first time we saw a championship match, Inter-Roma, free-to-air on Rai 2. It is an important fact. This championship is more balanced than the previous ones and I want to underline that the clubs are making a great effort. We will try to have more and more visibility and win over important sponsors to work more and more independently on an economic level.” Next step, women’s football in the League: it will happen next year. “Another step to break out of the niche and become a more popular sport. The model is Spain, which has grown exponentially in a short time. But I think doing the same is not impossible.” Even the coach and the girls believe in it. Next stop for the Italians in the Nations League in Salerno against Spain on the 27th. Bergamaschi doesn’t give up: “They are the world champions, but we can beat them”.