BESARKADA: the mural produced by Rebobinart in which Visa pays tribute to women’s football
In the video, the story behind the Besarkada mural: the girls who at fourteen put together the first women's football team in Eibar. They tell how they talked the club round, how the match was only allowed as a charity fixture for the nuns of La Asunción, and how they won 1-0. «When Spain won the World Cup, I said: a little piece of that medal is mine.»
Video transcript (translated from Spanish)4 min 24 s
The playersWe were fourteen-year-old girls who only wanted to do what we liked, which was play football. One day it occurred to us: why don't we put together a girls' team and see if they let us play? I'm not sure whether he was the vice-president at the time, Antonio Corral; he had a shop, and we started going to see him day after day so he would help us.
At home we said we were going to play football and my father went through the roof: that it was a boys' game. How was I going to tell them at home I was going to play football? They would never have let me. So the best thing was to say nothing.
It was so deeply embedded in society that it was unthinkable for women to do something so normal for their age. Football was male; they didn't believe it was a sport for girls.
The playersThere wasn't much of a way to get it done. But little by little, perhaps because of how much we pestered the poor man, he agreed and started raising it at the club. There was only one condition: that the proceeds of the match go to the nuns of La Asunción.
The club had made an agreement with some nuns under which Eibar undertook to raise 800,000 pesetas through charity matches. How to do it? Most years they played fat-versus-thin matches.
The reportEibar was a very industrial town. There were arms factories above all, and bicycle and sewing-machine factories. In those days every kind of labour was needed, and some operations called for fine hands and very specific skills, which in many cases women had. That gave Eibar a very particular character where women were concerned too.
The playersMore than anything, we were persistent. It seems there was in fact no permit for that match: they had to fall back on a linesman to referee it, because the referee did not dare. They said that in those shorts, how were we going to play, that a skirt would be better; the way things were back then.
In the end we managed it, and we all looked very good in those shorts. What I remember is that we won 1-0, against the Ermua side; a hard-fought match. I had to stay from midfield back.
We were brave, we were pioneers, because up to that moment no girl had played football. We even stood up to our own families. When Spain won the World Cup, I said: a little piece of that medal is mine, I think. Mine and those girls' I started playing with.
Something is there, something remains: we had a great deal to do with women's football being what it is today. A great deal. And we shouldn't even have to say women's or men's any more: it's football.
Video by Revista Líbero. Video transcript, edited for reading: repetitions and verbal fillers have been removed, the text has been punctuated and speakers are identified.
Bilbao
15.05.24
Visa has unveiled a commemorative mural to pay tribute to the women who have promoted women’s football. Designed by the Basque artist Udane Juaristi, known as Udatxo, the mural will be unveiled on 16 May to coincide with the UEFA Women’s Champions League final, which will be played in San Mamés, Bilbao, on 25 May. The mural, located at 1 Txakoli Street in the Deusto district of Bilbao, is part of a project led by Visa, conceived by the agency Líbero and curated and produced by Rebobinart.
The mural BESARKADA (‘hug’ in Basque) celebrates women footballers of 1971 and today: the almost clandestine beginnings of women’s football took place in Eibar in 1971, where the first match in the history of Euskadi was played by women. Udatxo: “This mural is a tribute to them all, to their courage, perseverance and indomitable spirit, and aims to inspire future generations to continue fighting for their dreams in sport.
Visa launched this initiative to pay tribute to the women who have made women’s football what it is today. For its part, the Líbero Creative Club agency, which is specialized in sport from a cultural, historical and social perspective, has come up with this original proposal. Finally, the urban art production company Rebobinart has curated and produced the work.
Udatxo was born in Azkoitia in 1985 and studied Fine Arts in Bilbao and Paris, focusing on urban scenes. She has had exhibitions and murals in Spain, Germany, France and Morocco, and in this case she brings her vision to the project, capturing the essence of movement, colour and light.
“The mural is a tribute to women’s football and all the women who have made this journey possible. I wanted to capture a hug with everything it represents: illusion, achievement, triumph, effort, teamwork and joy; a symbol of unity and shared effort. I firmly believe that the women’s game has come a long way to where it is today. I have seen it first-hand, having played for many years, and it gives me great satisfaction to see that all this work is now coming up, even though there is still a lot of room for improvement,” said Udatxo.
The work will be unveiled on 16 May and promises to be a focal point for fans, tourists and media, cementing the legacy of women’s football in an exceptional artistic format.
Brands, agencies, artists and producers are transforming urban spaces, enlivening the environment with murals and street art that not only beautify cities, but also foster dialogue and emotional connection with communities. This art now offers new opportunities for collaboration, connecting art and audiences in innovative and sustainable ways that benefit both creators and audiences.
ABOUT VISA
Visa is a global leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories. Their mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payment network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. They believe that economies that include everyone, everywhere are empowering and see access as fundamental to the future of money.
ABOUT LIBERO AGENCY
Líbero Agency is the creative studio behind Líbero magazine. They tell exciting stories about football, brands and people. The magazine aims to bring social reflection to football, the pleasure of a careful presentation of the product and a privileged space for sports literature.
