Virginia Martínez, president of Arandina: "It was not fair that we were associated with the convicted"
Virginia Martínez (Madrid, 1988) barely sleeps five hours a day, but these weeks she is still busier than usual. To her work as a lawyer and as leader of the opposition in the Aranda City Council, she now has to add all the logistics of the Cup match against Cádiz. “People stop me on the street to tell me that family members are coming to cross the bridge and to ask me if there are any tickets left,” he said, in a telephone conversation with EL MUNDO, about Thursday's tie.
Lay Hoon Chan, at Valencia, Sophia Yang, at Granada and Marián Mouriño, at Celta, are the only three presidents in First Division clubs. Have any of these cases inspired you? La Arandina is a modest club that is becoming more professional around the first team, but in practice we are a group of people who collaborate in any field. As president, I dedicate myself to representative work and a lot of management work, so I always base my work on day-to-day work.. As for what you are asking me, I have not had a specific reference, but I have dedicated myself to working and moving the club forward.. We arrived in August 2020, in the middle of the pandemic and since then we have focused on a sincere work of daily work, although also having a medium and long-term project. You are a recognized fan of Real Madrid. Do you think that Spanish football is ready for a woman to be president of the white club? Right now, Florentino Pérez is the president that Madrid needs, but why not? If a person is prepared in terms of management and in terms of everything that comes with presiding over a club of that magnitude, of course they could be, regardless of their gender. Is football still a stronghold for sexist behavior? I think that sexist people They are in all areas of their life.. Soccer is not a sexist sport, but the one that attracts the most fans. So among all those people, just for mere statistics, there are surely sexists. What did you think of Luis Rubiales' kiss to Jenni Hermoso? I would describe it as misguided. As president, your first term involves maintaining the institutional framework that the position implies, in this case that of the national team within a World Cup.. At a time like this you don't have to get carried away by emotions.. Have you understood the demands of the Spanish internationals? You always have to bet on equality, but of course, equality has to be both in the good and in what remains to be achieved. Women's football is something that, of course, must be promoted by the administration and federative institutions.. I think we are on the right track in terms of the support and professionalization that is required.. Only seven months have passed since he ran for municipal elections in Aranda. How did your political vocation come about? I have always been attracted to politics, because of the role it plays within society.. Only if you take the step and get involved can you do something for others. The Popular Party offered me that opportunity and I feel very proud, because at the municipal level I can see up close the concerns of citizens and do things for them.. Although I have to tell you that I also like high politics.
I am very proud of my work in the City Council, but I also like high politics
Who are your references in the political sphere? In the PP we have great figures. Now, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, as leader of the party, is a reference for all militants. And then, our regional presidents, like Alfonso Fernández Mañueco and, of course, Isabel Díaz Ayuso or Juanma Moreno. In Burgos we have a PP with a lot of experience and a lot of empathy with whom we collaborate, as demonstrated by Borja Suárez, the provincial president.. I also don't want to forget Raquel González, who was mayor of Aranda for 12 years and who is now a senator in Madrid, from where she does magnificent work for our province. We live in a climate of extreme polarization, with too much noise at all levels. In a city of 33,000 inhabitants, where the majority knows each other on the street, have you suffered any episodes resulting from tension? In Aranda, football has been completely left out of any political issue. When our members and subscribers go to the Juan Carlos Higuero Stadium to enjoy the matches, they do so only paying attention to what is happening on the pitch.. Last April 26, the former football players of Arandina were arrested and convicted of sexual assault.. Has the club contacted them? It is an issue settled for the club from the moment those players stopped belonging to their discipline, so there has been no link with them. I think that at the time it hurt us to be associated with that case, because in any company there can be someone who jumps a traffic light or commits a crime.. This does not mean that this case should be associated with the name of a non-profit club like ours.. We believe that it was not fair, but hey, we also understand the relevance and repercussion of acts that were of considerable seriousness and that were finally condemned by the Supreme Court. In 2019, one of the convicted persons assured in an interview with EL MUNDO that they had been simple “scapegoats”. Was there any interest in this case serving as a lesson? It is a question that should only be assessed judicially. I do not know the substance of the matter to express myself in one sense or another.. I cannot give an answer because it has been an issue outside the club..
Virginia Martínez, at the Juan Carlos Higuero Stadium. A month ago, the Arandina footballers gave up playing the first minute of their Cup match in protest against non-payments. How do you plan to solve this problem? The most substantial part of our income comes from subsidies. We are lucky that the City Council helps us, but the federal subsidies never arrive in bulk, since each one requires a process. And that has created liquidity problems for us.. It is not a question that the money is not going to arrive or that we have committed ourselves beyond our means, but of time.. We understand the economic needs of our players, like those of any other worker. And of course we support any action to enforce your rights.. However, in this case it is a temporary problem. There is a part of the fans, linked to some managers who left Arandina, who consider that their partner, Paco Galán, is the one who really has the upper hand in the club.. Right now, in Arandina we work with a group of about 30 people.. Every Monday we meet at eight in the afternoon, for two or even three hours, in which we talk and debate about the situation of the club.. Paco has been the spokesperson and has carried out a very complicated job, which I think should be recognized, for the sacrifice he has been able to entail. Of the three activities that he combines, which is the one that satisfies him the most? Each one has its moments, but in the end what keeps you going is seeing the children playing the games.. After these seven months I am very satisfied with what is happening at the City Council, because the party's issues interest me very much.. It's the day to day that makes me happy. And, above all, share it with the people who, as I told you at the beginning, help me coordinate everything. The collaborators and colleagues, within my profession, of the Popular Party and Arandina, who for me are essential pillars. What is a day in the life of Virginia Martínez like? I usually wake up around six in the morning. First thing in the morning is when I have the most work capacity and when I make the most of my time. In the office I dedicate myself to my specific work as a lawyer, while I alternate the administration and management issues of the club, the paperwork of important issues, such as subsidies or some contracts. That work, let's say, in the office, is carried out based on my agenda throughout the day. I continue in the afternoon and evening, so I must admit that I get little rest.