Amanda Gutiérrez: "I think the prize for women's tournaments will never be the same as the men's"

MADRID, 19 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of FUTPRO, Amanda Gutiérrez, acknowledged that it is very difficult for the economic prizes of the FIFA and UEFA women's tournaments to be similar between women's and men's soccer because "they are disproportionate amounts that a sport like women's soccer costs to generate ", and that they were clear that in the new agreement signed with the RFEF it was going to be "impossible" for the amounts to be matched.

"I think it will never be the same prize as the men's, they are disproportionate amounts that a sport like women's soccer or any other sports modality costs to generate," Amanda Gutiérrez explained this Tuesday at the Europa Press Sports Breakfasts, sponsored by DAZN, State Lotteries and Gambling, Repsol and Unicaja Banco.

The lawyer, who warned that with the professionalization they now have a "double responsibility to do it well", was an important part of the agreement with the RFEF for the new contract of the Spanish internationals and believes that they have "achieved something historic".

"We have only been here for a short time since FUTPRO was founded and one of the first objectives was to improve the conditions of the players in the national team. It is true that this agreement only applies to the Absolute and we have achieved something very complete, which includes many things, not just premiums," he stressed.

The president of the majority union in women's football assures that "the key issue here is really that the type of contract that the players have is the same" as that of the men's combination, but that, being "percentages of the FIFA prizes and UEFA" and not "fixed amounts", there are still inequalities that the RFEF tries to alleviate with a "system of positive discrimination". In this sense, although the two football organizations "have been raising the prizes for years", Amanda Gutiérrez sees it necessary for them to "continue" because it is still something "very sustainable".

"When we sat down and saw it, we realized that it was going to be impossible to match amounts. But it is still a step, it is progress, it is very positive that the RFEF wanted to sit down with the players, who asked FUTPRO to advise them, and the good will of all the parties to want to improve the conditions. This is the beginning of a long road", he explained about the agreement prior to the European Championship.

The president of FUTPRO put the focus on "image rights", because "they were not well assigned" in the Spanish women's team. "We have managed to manage them correctly. In the same way as with the men's, it is divided at a percentage level with the players. It is something sustainable, because the more this team sells, the more brands they will want to sponsor them and they will be able to earn more money, "she explained. .

On the other hand, Amanda Gutiérrez said that "it was difficult to make women's football professional", although "we must assess the steps that have been taken". For this reason, she considers that there is a "double responsibility to do it well" as it is "the first women's sport to be declared professional" and "the third competition" of the entire national sport.

"There are other sports that will be looking at us with a magnifying glass or waiting for an opportunity to have the same fortune, that are also declared professional, both male and female modalities," said Gutiérrez, who highlighted the fact that "the CSD and the Government have bet for the winning horse, which is women's sport".

Regarding the new president of this league, Beatriz Álvarez Mesa, the leader acknowledged that she did not imagine that the presidency of this new professional competition would be "occupied by a man." "I refuse to think that there are no women prepared for this position because there always are and I also knew that the CSD asked her to be a woman," she declared.

Looking to the future, Amanda Gutiérrez confirmed that she had already had "some meetings" and that "shortly" they hope to "constitute the table for the collective agreement" for which they are already "very late" anyway. "You have to give this league a chance, to form its internal infrastructures and also manage many issues that it has, such as the coordination agreement with the RFEF, and also the issue of sponsorships, image and television rights," she sentenced.

Thus, the next step will be the commercialization of a championship that he defines as "a good product, that is expanding, that is liked and that occupies covers". "We already have the same number of Ballon d'Ors in Spain for men and women, which is one, we are equal. Now we have an opportunity to do things right," he stressed.

Regarding the situation of the sale of television rights, Gutiérrez admitted that they do not have "information about it." "I have spoken with Beatriz (Álvarez) a few times and she has told me that they are working on it," he simply said.

"The league is being too rigorous in talking to the unions only for what is expressly provided for in the law and it is something that, from FUTPRO, we have not liked very much, we would like there to be a much more reciprocal relationship between the league and the unions because we have to row all in the same direction", warned the president of the union.

From FUTPRO they do hope to "get a good amount of money with the rights", avoiding what happened in the last course. "Last season we had a television blackout that has hurt us a lot and has greatly devalued our product and we cannot allow something similar this year," Gutiérrez warned.

Finally, although she is not "very good at reading games", she is "positive" ahead of the Eurocup quarter-finals against England. "She is the hostess and we have it very difficult and with the casualties we have of the two best in the world such as Alexia Putellas and Jenni Hermoso, but this team has what it takes to win, with players capable of pulling it off and that We feel proud of women's football," she said.

"Regardless of the result, we have already won a lot. We knew that this European Championship was going to be historic because of the visibility and because of the moment it arrived, because of the creation of the first union just for them, such as FUTPRO, and because we are filling the front pages. Women's football is in a very sweet moment, but not everything is done and now there are two ways, to do it well or badly, hopefully it will be the first", he sentenced.