From L'Ampolla to Switzerland: "I had to leave home because there was nothing"

BarcelonaOnce training and the gym session were over, Laia Ballesté Sciora (Ampolla, 1999) speaks to ARA at the Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque. The activity is frantic and doesn't stop, but while other La21 academy teams are training, on the grandstand of the pitch the player takes time to reflect on everything she has experienced in recent months and years. "It has been a season in which we achieved the goal of salvation early, but we are an ambitious team and we want to get more points." She doesn't like being in the media or speaking in front of microphones, but she agrees to do the interview. "I'm very reserved, I have to work on the subject of communication," she confesses.

Ballesté's path to the elite has not been easy. Not only because of the lack of players when she was young and because she was taking her first steps in football, but also because she didn't live in a big city. "It's chipping away at stone all the time, now there are very qualified people from the grassroots, but I remember that my first coach was a painter. l'Ampolla is a very small town where, if you don't have clear objectives, it's very difficult to get far. Nowadays there is still no women's team," says the Espanyol footballer who played with boys until she was fourteen before leaving her municipality to continue her career, first in Deltebre and then in Tortosa, before starting her national journey in Castelló and Valencia. "I've traveled all over Spain. I had to leave home because there was nothing there. I've had to work and understand that, if I'm going to reach the elite, I have to take many more and more difficult paths than a girl who plays in the big city, who has many more clubs within her reach," she explains.

The debut with the national team

A sacrifice that had its maximum reward on April 8, 2025, when she debuted with the Swiss national team. “I was very clear that I wanted to play for Switzerland because it was giving back to my mother all the work she had done with me and the efforts of taking me everywhere”. Ballesté's mother – who is one of the footballer's role models – had to emigrate as a child due to her father's illness – Laia's grandfather –. “He has instilled in me many values of continuing to work. I don't think it was easy to integrate into a place where the language and culture are different. My mother's father had little time left to live and the whole family came down here because they used to spend their holidays in Cullera. They wanted to give him the pleasure of enjoying the little time he had left,” she explains.

A debut that last summer became the prize of being called up for the Eurocup which, precisely, was played in Switzerland. “It was a roller coaster of emotions. I went to the training sessions before the tournament. The coach [Pia Sundhage] told me that she wasn't counting on me, but that maybe I would have to come at the last minute if a player didn't recover. I remember leaving for the airport crying, but when I got to my parents' house I calmed down to prepare myself for what might happen. When they called me to tell me they needed me as quickly as possible, my father, at two in the morning, took me to Barcelona airport and I arrived at the training camp around nine in the morning”, she recalls.

The commitment to women's football

The white-and-blue player has experienced various realities in the world of football. From teams like Sporting Huelva, Rayo Vallecano, or Dux Logroño, where there wasn't great infrastructure, to Espanyol where the commitment could be greater. “I think the club can invest a little more, for example, in the quality of the pitch where we train on a daily basis. In the end, however, there is what there is in terms of facilities and that's what we have to deal with”. Regarding the possibility of opening the RCDE Stadium, Ballesté points out that there is still work to be done. “When we play at the Dani Jarque, very few people come to see us. I don't think it would be beneficial to open the stadium if we don't fill the Ciutat Esportiva, but it would be nice to play at the RCDE. People also have to want to come. We are one entity, Espanyol. When I go to the RCDE Stadium, it's full, but when we play, the usual attendees come, which we are very grateful for, but all the people who go to the stadium, we don't see them here. We support the men's team, but we don't receive the same in return.”

Dampen the party for the eternal rival

The players will continue to work to keep growing. “With safety secured, we want to try to surpass last season's 32 points [they have 28 with five matchdays remaining] and not concede so many goals”, Ballesté sets as an objective. The next challenge will be on Wednesday, April 22nd (7 PM), when they will host Barça at the Ciutat Esportiva Dani Jarque. “We have talked about the possibility that they could be League champions if they beat us, and it's an extra motivation. Nobody likes their eternal rival to celebrate the title at your home”, she confesses.

In this match, all eyes will once again be on Mapi León and Daniela Caracas. The Aragonese central defender will return to Dani Jarque, where last year she was the protagonist of a controversial incident with the Colombian footballer. “We are public figures and nowadays there are many cameras. We are role models, many girls watch our gestures, how we act, what our personality is like… We all have to become aware that we are a model and we have to do things the right way”, Ballesté concludes.

The Catalan player –whose contract ends in June– wants to focus on finishing a season she describes as a “learning experience” in the best possible way. Ballesté –who studies interior design– assures that she is comfortable and “near home”, but does not hide her desire to play abroad someday. “I am an ambitious player and I would like to be able to compete for beautiful things”, she concludes.