Pau Gasol bets on the F League with “the hope and the opportunity to do something special”

Pau Gasol is “full of enthusiasm” for the investment of 55 million in Liga F that he is going to make through ‘Gasol16 Ventures’, “an opportunity to do something special” in which they want to “contribute knowledge, perspective and work together” to achieve the growth of a competition where he believes there is “a lot of room for opportunity and growth.”

“We have been working during these months to reach this milestone and we are full of enthusiasm for many reasons. Mainly, because we believe in the sport as a whole and in the opportunities, and the timing and the moment now is ideal and ideal,” said Gasol during the presentation of the agreement between Gasol16 Ventures and Liga F.

The one from Sant Boi has seen “also the evolution of women’s sports in other parts of the world, perhaps especially in the United States”, and also “the talent” that there is in Spain and “the work that has been done from League F during these years.” “It is an ideal moment to take a leap forward, to really bet on our players, on all the girls in our country who want to play soccer and practice sports,” he said.

“I am grateful for the opportunity and the clubs for their trust. Now a door is opening, a new dimension, and our team and I always work hard from that perspective, from ambition, but from enthusiasm and from the opportunity to do something special,” he added in this regard.

The former player made it clear that “Pau Gasol and his team are not coming to tell League F or the clubs how to do things.” “He wants to provide knowledge, perspective and work together to see how we can grow. But the first step, obviously, is the investment itself,” he warned.

Regarding the same, he assured that in the agreement, to which, according to information, four of the 16 clubs have not signed, they wanted to “understand very well” and “respect certain things very much for the common good.” “We have formalized an agreement that is very sensitive to this. What we want is for this to be a great success and for everyone to win, also from an investment point of view,” he said.

Pau Gasol and ‘Gasol16 Ventures’ have been attracted to the Moeve F League by “the work well done during these years” and “the potential it has for growth and improvement.” “We believe that with this operation and that investment and the work that we can do together we can continue with that progression and that growth,” he noted.

“It is a long-term commitment, we are talking about a long journey,” continued the Catalan, who does not doubt that “football in particular is a global and mass sport” and that Spain has “the best players in the world” and a “reference and spearhead” like FC Barcelona, “We have many factors and incentives to make the F League better and for sport and women’s sports to grow and take a leap forward with their own value, recognized and with a margin of growth,” he said.

For this reason, they also want their investment to help “retain talent and also attract the best talent.” “From there we also want to generate an internal structure within League F to be able to develop and pursue these collaborations and commercial agreements,” he said.

“We want to use our experience within sports and also the contacts we have in the world of sports at an international level to continue adding and forming a team. This is a journey that we undertake together, it is a milestone that fills us all with excitement, but now we have to start landing and little by little, walk,” Gasol warned.

ADVISORY COUNCIL OF INTERNATIONAL ATHLETES

And to help, there will be an advisory council of international athletes, which “is an important part of the entire strategy as well” to ensure that “national and international sports figures join the project and are excited to be able to contribute value and relevance and exposure to the F League, women’s sports and women’s soccer.” “We have already had different conversations. These months have been very gratifying and very positive because of all the feedback we have received from investors and other athletes,” he celebrated.

For the double winner of the NBA ring, “there are many signs” that indicated that this investment in Spanish women’s soccer “was a great opportunity” and that “there would be many people who would like and be excited to be part of it and contribute their bit.” “We will begin to develop it and we will be able to announce things, I hope very soon,” announced the president of the IOC Sports Commission.

Looking to the future of this agreement, he imagines “growth, impact, full stadiums seeing their players and those leaders within women’s football, inspiration in the community in the youngest and brands and institutions wanting to get involved and also betting on the league and the project and sport in general.”

“In the end, it is an opportunity and a project that transmits and breathes a lot of enthusiasm, so I think the impact we can have is very great. There is a lot of room for opportunity, growth and setting limits. That is my philosophy of life, life is already setting the limits for you, don’t set them for yourself,” remarked the Catalan, who does not hide that the entire process “has been very careful and very thought out.”

Likewise, “the involvement and enthusiasm of the clubs” and “the possibility of elevating all the players” have been key. “For me, the soccer player, the athlete, is very much at the center, and taking care of and elevating that athlete as a reference is very important. It is a collective commitment and it will depend on us to take the project as high as possible,” wished the triple Olympic medalist.

Regarding his time at FC Barcelona and what he was able to learn in that second stage of the women’s soccer team, Gasol admits that they want to “share good practice between the clubs” and that “things that work can be applicable to other clubs.” “What I know about Barça is that it invested in women’s football from the beginning and that has also borne fruit. Let’s see if that can also inspire as much as possible and adjusted to the circumstances of each club, and one or several of our clubs are there at the top of Europe every year, and that it’s not just Barça,” he explained.