Historic clubs in Italy now taking an interest in women’s football

Juventus recently attracted a record crowd for a women's football match in Italy

Forward Valentina Giacinti says first World Cup in 20 years is ‘big achievement’

It has been 20 years since an Italian player set foot on a FIFA Women’s World Cup™ field, but after finishing top of their UEFA qualification group ahead of a talented Belgium side, Milena Bertolini’s team will travel to France full of confidence after their two-decade absence.

The team is no stranger to a major tournament environment having qualified for every European Championships, except one, but their absence at a World Cup has been a long one, and now with a number of professional teams in the domestic Serie A, there is more attention and expectation of Italy’s women’s team.

That expectation has been aided with a talented group of players, with striker Valentina Giacinti amongst them.

Giacinti, who plays her football for AC Milan, has seen historic clubs in Italy shift their mentality towards the women’s game, with clubs including Milan, Juventus, Roma and Fiorentina all investing significant resources into their women’s teams. Inter, who won the domestic U-19 Championship this week, will also be in the top division next year after winning Serie B this year.

For Giacinti, this is a positive step for the game in her country.

"It’s very important to have professional clubs because they allow us to train every day, which was something that didn’t happen before," she said.

"We can now use things like the physios, doctors and training fields, and we can train in the mornings rather than evenings, which helps with recovery. So I think it has helped achieve a quantum leap in Italy."

That quantum leap has seen a growing interest in the women’s game in Italy with a record 39,000 spectators recently turning out to watch two of the professional clubs in Serie A – Juventus and Fiorentina.