Patricia García: “The biggest challenge is not in the field, but in changing minds”
The former rugby player claims the need for female referees and end prejudices
Madrid, 5 March 2025.- Patricia Garcia, former international rugby player and currently a coach, is the third presentation of the series of interviews being held by the Sports Council (CSD) on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, which is celebrated on Saturday, 8 March.
For the Madrid athlete, Olympic diploma in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and five-time champion of Europe with the Spanish XV rugby team, “it is important that girls see that you can play and that there are women like them, because what you don’t see is not dreamed.”
“I believe there is a social stigma and a certain prejudice towards women who practice rugby, historically considered as a sport for men,” says García, founder in addition to the PGR NGO, dedicated to social education in values through sport.
“There are more and more girls, young women and women who practice this sport, not only in Spain but globally. Growth is amazing and, fortunately, little by little socially, we are establishing a culture of greater equality,” he reflects.
A growth that, as the athlete herself acknowledges, needs visibility and references: “When I start becoming an international player, I become aware of how important it is to have close references and references for girls who start playing rugby at an early age.”
“That’s why the Leonas and, above all, our generation, have been aware of the importance of generating these benchmarks, of working visibility not only on the Internet, on social networks, but also in the press, in events, so that future girls and young women who want to play rugby could see the players who at that time wore the Leonas’s t-shirt.”
Visibility is especially needed if we consider that women are only present in 15.4% of radio sports news, a figure that drops to 8.2% on television, according to the CSD study, funded by NextBurnEU funds and published, precisely, International Women’s Day 2023.
For Patricia García, it is also necessary for there to be a greater presence of women in decision-making positions, as “there are very few leaders and managers in the offices”, which requires that there be “more opportunities for women in all their education to consider being rugby players, to consider being managerial, to consider being entrepreneurial and, when these moments of being forged in experience, in knowledge and in studies, to have an equal mind
However, the former rugby player stresses that, since its inception in 2007-2008, she has seen “a great advance in the role of women not only in the field but also outside”, with an increasing number of female figures in areas such as arbitration and training.
Indeed, thanks to the impetus of public policies, the presence of women in the Boards of Directors of the Spanish sports federations has increased by 40% since 2018, from a total of 233 women to almost 330.
Patricia García concludes her interview for the CSD with an appeal to future generations: “If there is a girl who has any doubt about the social judgment or why they will say, or because of comments she can receive regarding sports or, specifically, rugby, I would tell her that if she wants to play that she plays, which is a sport like any other.”
“The biggest challenge is not in the field, but in changing mentalities. That’s why we’re trying to pave the way for new generations to grow without boundaries or inequality,” he concludes.
Your testimony is already available on the YouTube channel and on the social networks of the CSD.
Full Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TNf8AXKnM_U
The commitment to equality in sport
On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, this Saturday, March 8, the CSD will organize an institutional event that will include a colloquium between the athletes Aauri Bokesa, Ana Ortega ‘Furria’, Eva Moral, María Vicente and Patricia García and the installation of several sports stations so that girls, boys, young people and adolescents can practice sports together with their referents.
This activity, open to the general public, will close a day of claim on the role of women in sport that will begin at 11:45 hours in the sports hall located on the -2 floor of the CSD institutional building.
As an institution charged with promoting public sports policies, the CSD maintains a strong commitment to equality, either through the promotion of initiatives that promote women’s participation in sport, the visibility of women’s referents or support for specific programmes that promote real equality in the sports field.