Coach Sónia Bompastor, of French nationality and Portuguese descent, was the featured guest at the ‘Football Talks + Extra Time – Women in Football’ event, organized by the Portuguese Football Federation, and concluded the event, which took place in Cidade do Futebol , with a lecture attended by the female national coaches, Francisco Neto, and the male national coaches, Roberto Martínez.
Among those present were also other renowned figures such as former Portuguese internationals or José Couceiro, technical director of the FPF, who played the role of host due to the president of the Portuguese federation, Fernando Gomes, being away.
«Two seasons ago, for Lyon, we played against Benfica and we won both games with a big difference, but we saw that this year Benfica played against Bayern Munich and already played closer games, more interesting in terms of competition. Benfica is the club that represents Portuguese football in the Champions League. This shows that Portuguese clubs are growing», praised Sónia Bompastor, the only woman to win the Champions League as a player and, in 2021/2022, as a coach.
«I am pleased to be Portuguese, congratulations to the Portuguese national team. I am very happy that Portugal will discuss a World Cup this summer [entre julho e agosto, na Austrália e Nova Zelândia] and I also want to say that Portuguese women’s football is gaining strength both in clubs and in the national team and I think that the support of the federation is also important», maintained the 42-year-old coach.
«Portuguese women’s football today is progressing, it is following a good direction and everyone, from the federation to the clubs, their leaders, must continue to support it so that it can grow», he indicated.
The session also featured a moment of fair play and good humor when Mariana Cabral, coach of Sporting, questioned Sónia Bompastor about whether she would be interested in signing Kika Nazareth, sitting right next door, for Lyon, claiming, between laughs: « Having her here is not very useful for me…». The response from the current holder of the Women’s Champions League was also largely complimentary towards the young woman and one of Benfica’s greatest figures.
«I know his football and when he came to play for Benfica against us, I already told you, he played a good game. She’s a player I’m following», admitted the coach of the dominant club in the women’s Champions League, proof that she has already won on eight occasions, three of them with Sónia Bompastor in her ranks, two as a footballer, in 2010/2011 and 2011/ 2012, and ten years later as a coach, precisely last season.
The event also featured a forum featuring Vanda Sigursgeirsdottir, president of the Icelandic Football Federation, Nuria Martínez, ‘team manager’ of the Spain men’s national team, and Raquel Rosa, football manager, who contributed with their testimonies about the positions they currently hold working daily in the male context.
