More than twenty girls wrapped up the football clinic that the Fundación Canaria Tenerife Costa Adeje ran over the weekend in the south of the island, closing on Sunday at the Armeñime ground. Two days of technical work, drills and team-building for a group of players who got free access to the way a Liga F club works.
Behind the sessions was the coaching staff of both the foundation and the first team: Braulio de León, sporting coordinator; Luis Patiño, assistant coach of Costa Adeje Tenerife Egatesa; Jesús Carrillo ‘Junior’, the first team’s goalkeeping coach; and Onésimo Díaz, a UEFA Pro-licensed coach. It is no small thing: that a girl just starting out can train for two days with the people who prepare the senior squad is exactly the kind of bridge between grassroots and elite that almost never exists in women’s football.
“The clinic went wonderfully. We had a great turnout of girls and their behaviour was impeccable,” said Braulio de León. “The players loved the exercises we set out, and we had two days of plenty of learning and football.”
The closing ceremony, attended by Adeje’s councillor for the elderly and youth, Carmen Lucía Rodríguez del Toro, ended the way these things tend to: medals, diplomas and a gift for every participant. The town’s sports councillor, Adolfo Alonso, stressed that initiatives like this “contribute decisively to the development of grassroots football on the island” and give girls “a chance to improve their skills in an environment of togetherness and values”.
Next stop: Gran Canaria
The project isn’t staying in Tenerife. The foundation is taking its clinic to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 20 and 21 June, at the Vicente López Socas ground — again free of charge and aimed at girls aged 6 to 16. There are 40 places — until they fill up — with breakfast, kit and diplomas included, and registration is still open through the foundation’s official form; to check availability, the contact is fundacion@tenerifefemenino.com or 922 293 313.
That a top-flight club is touring the archipelago putting on free camps for girls isn’t marketing: it’s building a fanbase and a talent pipeline where no one used to reach. Equal opportunity in football begins like this — with a ball, a weekend and an open door.
