'Football sees no gender,' Olga de la Fuente speaks about working in the La Liga as a woman

As we continue to celebrate Women's Month, Olga de la Fuente, who is the head of the LaLiga FOUNDATION and member of the LaLiga Management Committee speaks of her experience as a woman working in football.

"Football has traditionally been considered to belong exclusively to men, and although there are still many barriers to overcome, it is true that something is changing in this regard and there is reason for hope.

"My experience from over 26 years at LaLiga has given me the chance to get to know different profiles of directors, different working methods and different ways of communicating, particularly through varying types of leadership.

"I have clearly seen that the change is happening and the gap is gradually becoming smaller and smaller. A path has been forged in society and also in football, on which professionalism and hard work take precedence over gender.

"While there is still plenty to do, we are moving towards equality through our hard work, endeavour and professionalism and LaLiga is a fine example of that.

"Over the last six years, which has coincided with Javier Tebas's presidency, LaLiga has undergone change and experienced exponential growth in all fields, which has certainly been reflected in a clear commitment to gender equality within our organisation.

"LaLiga currently has 192 female employees, who make up 30% of the workforce. Female participation in the Management Committee currently stands at almost 30%, which is a very high percentage compared with other companies, and is much more than in other sporting organisations.

"We have also started to have success stories in this field, such as SD Eibar and CD Leganes, both of which have female presidents who have managed to steer small clubs into the Spanish footballing elite.

"As we can see, the foundations for the presence of women to stop being something exceptional in the beautiful game are already in place as part of this long journey.

"The future is knocking at the door of our football. At the LaLiga FOUNDATION, we work hard to ensure that path is as smooth as possible. An example of that is the educational Futura Aficion (Future Fan) project, which over 24,000 school children across Spain have participated in so far and which aims to ensure the youngsters of today become respectful fans in the future, having learnt about values such as equality, diversity and tolerance.

"Beyond our borders, the collaborative project with the Vicente Ferrer Foundation in Anantapur (India), which over 900 girls and 28 coaches have taken part in, is a programme that has a considerable impact on gender equality in a region where women and girls are often subjected to discrimination and isolation.

"The project that we developed alongside the Sporting Projects department in Za'atari (Jordan) at the second biggest refugee camp in the world deserves a special mention. Two LaLiga coaches have developed a community sports programme which looks to improve the children's quality of life through coaching, weekly training sessions and workshops on values, as well as through a sporting competition which around a thousand young boys and girls take part in while showcasing the colours of our league.

"Thanks to the hard work by our coaches on the ground, we have seen how the girls and the coaches formed a group that was hugely receptive to the project and also showed real enthusiasm about learning and taking part.

"That is why we are paying tribute to all of them on 8 March with a series of football-related activities that are tailored to them. We owed it to them. We owe it to football, in fact, because the game sees no gender. It does not belong to men or women, but to everyone. I have witnessed this transformation first-hand. Men and women have to keep fighting for gender equality in all walks of life, football included, just as we do at LaLiga."