New UEFA Ambassador, Spain forward Vero Boquete, recently visited a UEFA development tournament in Croatia, which was also attended by Croatian Football Federation president Davor Suker.
By Elodie Masson / uefa.com
Vero Boquete
Q: This is your first mission after your nomination as UEFA ambassador. How does it feel?
A: This is the first time that I do something [as] an ambassador for UEFA and also it’s my first time in Croatia. I was really excited and the first hours here are great. It’s one of the best feelings you can get [off] the field. Sometimes we only think about ‘on the field’, great games, important games, big tournaments; but this experience with the girls, with the younger ones, that is something else, something special.
Q: What are the challenges that they face at this stage of their career?
A: At this age, they are 15-16 years old. A normal girl at this age wants to spend so much time with friends and maybe you have to decide if you really want to do this and if you really want to put all the efforts in your dreams. The majority of them, they want to be professional; at least they want to try it and it’s in this time that they have to decide that, and say: okay, I want this and these are my goals. And maybe I have to spend more time practicing or working hard and maybe it’s not like a normal life at this age, but it’s worth it. It’s definitely worth it.
Q: What advice would you like to pass on to the girls playing here and elsewhere?
A: The only advice that I always [give] is that to reach your goals you have to work hard. Maybe you have the talent, and maybe you have the opportunities, but if you don’t work hard, then it’ll be finished soon. So I always tell them: just practice as hard as you can and just try to do your best every day, not just on the field and in practice, but also your life outside, and be ready for the next day, for another practice, for another chance to keep learning.
Davor Suker
Q: Can you tell me about your impressions of the organization of the UEFA development tournament in Croatia?
A: I’m happy that we can improve technically, and this is a project that helps in rejuvenating the football in this region. We know that we have to organise a lot of football festivals, we know they’re important. The associations haven’t prioritized less high profile parts of football like futsal and women’s football. But as long as I’m part of the association and a part of football, I will fight for the base, for small regions, I will fight for both women’s football and men’s football.
So I’d like to thank UEFA for their support and for their financial support, because it’s not easy. First of all, we have to destroy that attitude about girls playing with boys or about girls playing in general. And we have to show that both the women’s and men’s World Cups are equal. I am not sure whether we’re ready or not to find the most talented kids among this pool of talented kids, but I know we need to work very hard.
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