Mireia Rodriguez became the first woman to join a men’s handball team in Spain on Saturday.
In Albacete, the 31-year-old handball player, whose story has been highly publicized, therefore played her first official match with her new colors at the start of the season, against Cabanillas.
How did she get there? Quite simply by following her husband footballer (Ruben Martinez, passed through Masià , the FC Barcelona training center) recruited by the Albacete club in the region of Castile-la-Mancha, west of Valencia. She wanted to continue to practice her sport. But as the city does not have a women’s handball team, she asked to train with the men of the “Club Balonmano Albacete” (Albacete Handball Club), a team playing in the second regional division, the fifth echelon. national.
Long lobbying
The club accepted. From the first training sessions, Mireia Rodriguez (1.64m for 51 kg) impressed her new teammates. To the physical difference vis-Ã -vis the other players, it brought “speed, technique and agility”, they explain to the EFE press agency.
Mireia RodrÃguez is the first jugadora in integrarse in an equipo masculino español.
Es el último fichaje del Club Balonmano Albacete
The Federación de Castilla-La Mancha will consider that puede to be an adelante paso en este deporte.@todxsporigual @BalonmanoAB pic.twitter.com/zBM5npjZNv
– RTVEcastillalamancha (@RTVEclm) October 28, 2021
The coach José Maria Valerio then offered to play the matches as well, which she accepted. The coach and the president of the club requested the League, then the federations at regional and national level but suffered several refusals.
After two months of intense lobbying, the club finally won the case. The Castilla-La Mancha Federation has authorized Mireia RodrÃguez to play with the men. And on Saturday, the number 11 of the team, which is a designer of baby clothes the rest of the time, had a great time despite the defeat (31-26). She also scored a goal.
A historical fact on the planet of sport.