Live fast, travel often. Not exactly how the quote goes, but for Barcelona Femení the tail end of a domestic season in Spain and capping off European competition as champions means more time for training and less thinking for games. In this case, “l’equip” (the team) are heading across oceans and over borders to arrive 9,425 km away, or 5,856 miles away. Barcelona will be facing Mexican powerhouses Chivas Femenil in an international friendly at Estadio Akron near Guadalajara. And the people of Mexico are ready.
After an emotional home stadium send-off to long standing club faithfuls and Blaugrana bleeding Sandra Paños and Mariona Caldentey, who combined share 19 years at Barcelona together, not to forget to mention six European titles, close to 50 trophies, and a whopping 576 appearances, have achieved it all. With their departures confirmed for new adventures, Paños and Caldentey will forever be part of the Barcelona family. Although they did tag along for one last long plane ride.
With so much change happening for FCB Femení, staying focused is key. And focus comes in the form of 90 minutes on the pitch in a very crowded stadium versus Chivas Femenil, fifth ranked in the Mexican domestic league “Liga MX Femenil.” The Mexican fanbase for FC Barcelona as a whole (men’s and women’s, even academy) is booming, and a business opportunity not to be missed. Amazingly, with promotion, marketing, ticket sales, merchandise, community outreach, social media, and even a Barça player meet and greet, this simple international friendly is expected to generate between 700K to 1 million Euros. Yes, 700K to 1 million Euros according to Spanish news source Mundo Deportivo. There is no better time to get involved in the women’s game than now, seeing just how influential and impactful one club can be. Barcelona Femení are truly global pioneers in football and hopefully over time the same can be said for many more clubs, not just in Europe as Chelsea Women and Arsenal Ladies in England are heading off to America for summer showdowns in the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League). If readers would like to tune in to Barça Femení, the match starts 7pm or 19:00 Guadalajara local time, 03:00 London time, 04:00 Barcelona time and 9pm or 21:00 New York time. Match streams to be found online, Blaugranagram will be tuning in! Until next time, see you in Mexico.
