Women's Football Expo visits Gothenburg during Gothia Cup
BK Häcken and Gothia Cup are hosting Agenda WFE in Gothenburg.
A total of 32 teams from differents national and international clubs across Europe's top leagues participated during the event, where the primary goal is to promote women's football, and one of today's speakers was Maurizio Valenti.
– We must ensure that every female player, regardless of country, has the opportunity to play football and experience of this wonderful sport, said today's speaker, Maurizio Valenti.
The Women's Football Expo is the first independent global event that gathers decision-makers in women's football to network, learn from each other, and create new ideas and partnerships that develop women's football and advance our game.
– WFE is not just a great exchange of knowledge for us participants; it is also crucial knowledge for the practitioners and other people involved in research, like myself. I was aware of Gothia Cup, but I never imagined the tournament would be this large, with so many players, leaders, and spectators from all over the world. Football is an important key in today's society, creating a sense of community and belonging, where Gothia Cup plays a significant role in uniting children and young people from all corners of the world, regardless of skin colour, says Maurizio Valenti.
Maurizio Valenti opened the second day of Agenda WFE by discussing women's football academies and how to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of women's football.
– I have studied and engaged in research on women's academy football, which is in constant development. There are elements from men's football that I hope women's football can adopt – at the same time, I believe women's football should strive to find its own path forward and build its own culture.
Maurizio Valenti continues:
– Unfortunately, we see discrimination against women's football in various parts of today's society, which can be due to social and cultural factors. We need to highlight our women's teams worldwide and showcase women's football to tell the story of its high level and ongoing development. In Sweden and the Nordic countries, it is a given, but there are many parts of the world where it is not permitted to play football as a woman – but we see a bright future for women's football and are working around it.
A total of 32 different teams from top women's football participated, aiming to create a platform for decision-makers to interact between clubs, improve their networks, and build stronger club-to-club relationships.
– Football fosters new friendships and memories for children and young people at the tournament. Yesterday, Dennis Andersson, founder of Gothia Cup, gave a lecture and emphasized that money should never be an obstacle when it comes to Gothia Cup, says Maurizio Valenti.
On Wednesday, three successful days in Gothenburg will conclude as the fourth edition of Agenda WFE wraps up.
– We look forward to tomorrow when three fantastic days in Gothenburg will be rounded off, and the last topic we will cover is developments in data within women's football, says Maurizio Valenti.
BK Häcken and Gothia Cup thank everyone for a successful event.
