“We never force anyone to resign from the national team”

The president of FUTPRO, Amanda Gutierrez She lives in turbulent times, jumping from one conflict to another in a women’s soccer environment where old grudges continue to take their toll. “They don’t let us do our job,” he lamented in this interview with Mundo Deportivo, where he wanted to clarify some pending issues and where, despite everything, he was positive and optimistic to reach a understanding and walking hand in hand.

-What’s going on in women’s football, where it seems like there’s a never-ending war?

Ever since FUTPRO was born, we knew we weren’t going to be easy. We know that we will make people uncomfortable and that they will go to us, because we are new and we will break with the established. However, we are surprised by the constant rivalry that exists between so many institutions, the fights that we do not understand and that come from behind. We have found them and they are not making us do our work. We don’t have any problem with the Federation or the League, or the CSD or the associations or unions. We don’t have a problem with anyone, but between them there are issues that need to be resolved.

-The latter controversy directly affected them, when FUTPRO was accused of forcing players to be called up by the senior team to feign emotional impact.

Well, to answer this question, I want to be very clear: in no case have we pressured any soccer player and I am saddened to see that some media outlets consider the information to be valid without verifying it and no chance to talk to us. These types of actions only increase conflicts.

-Will you, then, deny these complaints from AFE through a statement?

We never force any player to resign from the national team.

-FUTPRO is the authorized voice of soccer players to deal with the conflict between ’15’ and the RFEF for the ‘Vilda case’, how are the talks going?

We like to think that we can reach a point of understanding with everyone.

-Can we be optimistic then?

I always want to be positive. I believe that the Federation knows how to listen and that we can reach an agreement and improve the conditions of the players.

– Where are we?

Ever since we sent that official statement from the players we haven’t stopped working. As the majority union, we speak on behalf of all soccer players. We talked to Absolute and the players from the lower categories with the idea of ​​improving everything.

-This season we launched the Professional League, what balance do you make from FUTPRO?

The truth is ‘chaos’ is the word. We have all experienced this slow process with the laws to create the League and the number of problems between the Federation and the League that leave us with a taste of chaos. There is no clear line and there are ongoing problems that always require CSD intervention. All institutions have a role and we must work with each other to improve and not put sticks in our wheels because we lose opportunities and this is a breakdown for soccer players.

-Another pending issue is the update of the collective agreement, how are the talks going?

We have had several meetings. All the topics are going well so far, but we haven’t entered the most important ones like bias, compensation list or minimum wage. There are already some proposals that we have launched.

-Issues such as motherhood or reconciliation, are they also taken care of?

Yes, we want to improve the harmony and we see that it is not a contentious issue, I think they will not object. We are very optimistic. Above all, we need to immediately raise the minimum wage, eliminate partiality and achieve retroactivity.

-Finally, this Sunday we have the final of the U17 World Cup in Spain against Colombia. How important are the achievements of new generations?

They are very important, this is another example of the talent we have at home. They won European Championships and World Cups. This is something that must be squeezed hard to make this product profitable.