"Football clubs do not see women as having character or the ability to lead a group"

BarcelonaSara Monforte (Castellón, 1980) is the exception that proves the rule. Following the dismissal of Irene Ferreras from Deportivo Abanca in November, the Espanyol coach is the only woman in charge of one of the 16 Liga F teams. She spoke out in a conversation with ARA before hosting Madrid CFF on Saturday (6pm, DAZN).

The situation she is denouncing is not exclusive to Spanish football, but is still the dominant trend in the five major European women's leagues: only ten female coaches in 62 clubs. As in Spain, in Germany, Italy and France there is only one: Theresa Merk (Freiburg), Suzanne Bakker (Milan) and Sandrine Soubeyrand (Paris FC). "There are probably fewer women with a coaching license than men, but it is still very difficult. The two people who have given me a chance on the bench, at Villarreal and at Espanyol, have been women, and that is no coincidence," she says.

England is the only major league where real change is taking place. In the Women's Super League there are as many women as men in coaching: starting with Natalia Arroyo (Aston Villa) and followed by Renée Slegers (Arsenal), Sonia Bompastor (Chelsea), Amandine Miquel (Leicester City), Rehanne Skinner (West Ham) and Amber Whiteley. "We shouldn't be given anything or favoured because we are women, but we should give opportunities to those who are good," she claims. "Women coaches are valued more abroad. Milagros Martínez is successful in Mexico, but she left here because she had no options. I know Natalia well, she knows the essence of the game very well, I have yet to see a better football commentator than her," she adds.

The lack of female talent on elite coaches, she warns, is a chronic problem because clubs tend to choose "people without experience in women's football, which further devalues female coaches." The opportunity came to her when she had decided to hang up her boots at Zaragoza. The call from Villarreal allowed her to discover her vocation. "I enjoyed playing, but I like coaching more, it's my passion. First, because of the coexistence with the players, since I feel more like an educator, in the pedagogical field. Second, because of the adrenaline of the matches," she says.

The project with Villarreal ended last summer, after six years, a promotion and a relegation. "I was very worried about spending a year unemployed, because our salaries don't allow us to save and spend three or four years without training, but I was lucky that Espanyol called me," she says. With ten games to go, the white-and-blues are five points above the relegation zone in their season back in the top flight. "We are having a good season, fighting to stay in a demanding category. In two or three years, we will also see the fruits of the good work that is being done in the youth team," she says.

Monforte, who played for Espanyol between 2009 and 2013, has seen first-hand how women's football has evolved in recent decades. "We now have many more resources, starting with the spaces. We can use the high-performance gym at the sports city and the players can dedicate themselves exclusively to playing. Also, before there were three or four people on the coaching staff, now I have a dozen specialists working with me: physical trainers, goalkeeping coach, analyst, psychologist, and many more things," she explains. Thanks to these resources, she says, the footballers are today "much better physically and conditionally."

The long road to the professionalization of women's football

The path to professionalisation of women's football is slow, but it is already starting to become tangible. "In my generation, only 30 or 50 players, at most, could make a living exclusively from football. Before, you could be good, but perhaps you couldn't afford to continue playing, whereas now it is a profession and you can dedicate yourself to it," she adds. And she encourages young girls to believe in their potential: "Many parents, and even the girls themselves, are not aware that those who have talent, if they focus on what really matters, could become professionals in the future."

It is not an easy journey, and it requires sacrifices, like those made by Monforte herself. "Not everyone is willing to sacrifice their social life or to be away from their family in exchange for salaries that are far from those of the boys, who perhaps find it more worthwhile." Asked about where she thinks the competition should go, she is clear: "The most complicated challenge is to make women's football sustainable. I am afraid that we will destroy it in two or three years and the clubs will stop supporting it and only see losses. We need visibility, so that when people see it, they like it."