Feed spoke to Maite Sarasua, who has been the driving force behind Ara’s sponsoring to Colombia’s women’s football team and told us about the reasons for this partnership and what it sets out to do.
Why did Ara decide to sponsor Colombia’s women’s football team?
In Colombia, only 38 out of every 100 women play sports and this, combined with the country’s heartfelt love of football, made us want to get involved in this great celebration of the game by pinning our colours to the women’s team, not just encouraging Colombian men and women to support their team, but also showing that participation in sport is part of a positive lifestyle, complementing a healthy diet and contributing to people’s well-being.
Maite Sarasua
marketing director at Ara
As sponsors, our hope was to raise the profile of the team and of these determined women, helping to promote women’s sport in general. We are confident that each player will be an inspiration to all the country’s women and girls, whether they decide to pursue a career in sport or take up healthy habits through good food and exercise.
“Each player will be an inspiration for all women and girls.” Maite Sarasua, Marketing Director at Ara
What’s been important about Ara’s sponsorship of the women’s football team?
In the first place, Ara was the first company to promote the country’s national teams with a special and exclusive focus on women. The company remains committed to encouraging sport. Combined with a healthy diet, it’s fundamental for a healthy lifestyle.
Secondly, our support goes far beyond the playing fields. We want to contribute not just to the players’ development as professionals, but also to have a positive impact on their home communities, which have faced particular difficulties. Between 28 July and 25 August, we provided 500 food parcels for their communities, for which the players and the technical team handed out cards. And we’re also supporting lunches and refreshments for football academies for children and young people, on holiday courses organised by the federation.
Through our sponsorship we want to bring hope and security to many young women and girls eager to develop their sporting skills and, in general, in the roles they choose in their daily lives.
Are female footballers as much sport stars as their male counterparts? Since the 2023 World Cup, the answer to this question is no longer a surprise.
What other activities has Ara got planned in relation to this sponsorship?
We’ve decorated more than 1,200 stores in the colours of the Colombian flag. And we want to promote our talented players in all our stores spread over more than 340 municipalities: we have displays of photos, telling people their names, hometowns and something of their life stories. We’re also learning about their charitable work in organisations promoting sport and supporting children and we’re looking at how we can get involved.
How do you think the women did at the World Cup?
They did a fantastic job representing Colombia at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand; it was truly exceptional. Just to have got there was a huge achievement and the hope and excitement they brought to the whole country by getting through to the quarter finals was absolutely incredible. Especially when we remember that Colombia has only had a professional league since 2016 and that there are still huge shortcomings in the support they need.
What has this partnership meant most to people and what is Ara hoping for from this effort?
The power of believing, I can say with confidence; I think that believing in them, in the women of Colombia, believing in the country, is the way to secure the future we aspire to. As a brand, but more importantly as a group, we believe in positive leadership and that it’s possible to change our world.
One thing I’ve always believed in life is that dreams without goals are just dreams and that without discipline and consistency, we’ll never achieve our goals. I would also add that alone, we will probably get there faster, but together we will undoubtedly always go further.
