Del Bosque helps Madrid kick off Live Your Goals Tour

The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ 2015 Live Your Goals Tour kicked off at the weekend in Madrid as hundreds of fans in the Spanish capital enjoyed the unique opportunity to take a photo with the trophy and learn more about the competition itself.

International stars Nagore Calderon, Debora Garcia, Silvia Meseguer and Lola Gallardo accompanied the trophy during its time in the city and posed with many fans, who reciprocated by offering the players support and encouragement ahead of their first appearance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup, at Canada 2015.

To celebrate the special visit, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) organised a workshop with a debate on the current state of women’s football in the country.

The event, which took place on Saturday, was also attended by Spain men’s coach Vicente del Bosque. "The work and dedication of a lot people has allowed this progress to be made. Playing at a World Cup is the maximum for any sportsperson. It will help to inspire others and bring attention to this specialty, while enabling the girls to gain experience," the 2010 World Cup-winning coach said.

It will help to inspire others and bring attention to this specialty, while enabling the girls to gain experience.

Vicente del Bosque on Canada 2015

Following his own experience at World Cups with La Roja, Del Bosque gave some advice to his counterpart. "You have to prepare really well and create a good atmosphere in the dressing room. Even though a good relationship between the squad members won’t guarantee positive sporting results on its own, it definitely helps both your play and the competition to improve."

The coach of the women’s team, Ignacio Quereda, took note and revealed his detailed preparation plan for the showpiece event next year. "From January we will have a training camp monthly with the girls. As well as the friendlies already organised against Austria and Belgium, we are working on securing some more top-level games, plus a tour in the United States before heading to Canada."

For his part, Spanish Olympic Committee president Alejandro Blanco was present to give his support to the discipline on behalf of his institution and expressed his hope that the girls could achieve one important goal next year. "Let’s hope they are with us at the Olympic Games in Rio," he said. It is worth remembering that Canada 2015 also represents the qualification route for the Olympics in 2016.

FIFA Women’s Football Development Manager Mayrilian Cruz Blanco highlighted the great work of the Live Your Goal campaign across the globe and presented the Tour project which will visit each of the 24 nations set to participate at Canada 2015. The next stop will be China PR in January.

The objective of the Live Your Goals campaign and this Tour is to support the development of women’s football and enhance the sport with a view to ensuring that more and more girls and women across the world are able to play the game. It also aims to support the member associations that have qualified for the Women’s World Cup and promote the competition itself.

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