Club America Comes to Arkansas for the Golden Clash ⚽

We sit down with Claudia Carrión Rojos from Club America Femenil to trace her path from playing as a kid to helping build one of the most ambitious women’s football (soccer) projects in Mexico. We preview the Golden Clash in Northwest Arkansas and talk about how soccer connects cultures.

The club’s goal is to become the best in the world so fans will experience history in the making with the Golden Clash on March 28 in Fayetteville. We talk about what fans can expect on matchday from talent to atmosphere and how soccer brings Mexican and US communities together by investing in future generations. A special thanks to our friends at Experience Fayetteville and University of Arkansas for their work to host Club America. For tickets, visit: Golden Clash: Club America vs. Tigres | University of Arkansas

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Transcript

Claudia’s Path Into Women’s Football

Beth Bobbitt 0:01

This is a new American town. I'm your host, Beth Bobbitt, and I'm happy to welcome Claudia Carrion, Rojas, Corporate Director of Club America Feminole. Claudia, glad you're here. Hi. Nice to be here. Yes. So for a lot of folks out there, there's no introduction needed. But for our friends that are still learning, Club America is a professional football club based in Mexico City. And for the purpose of this interview, we will say football, but in the US, we know this as soccer, of course.

Claudia Carrión Rojas 0:36

So we're going to dig into this, but Claudia, I'd love to start with your career. You've built this professional career around the growth of women's football. Can you tell us about your background and how you got into this work?

Speaker 1 0:48

Well, actually, I started playing since I was a little kid. I remember being like two years old and having a ball in my hands because all of my family is like very passionate about soccer or football. And yeah, I I went to the stadium since I was a little girl. I played with my cousins. And when I grew up, there was no career in football that you can did. So I started playing in in college. I I played in some academies with with boys. That was the thing that was available at the moment. And then in 2017, they announced the league. And I was working in another thing. So I can return football, what football gave me, uh all the tools, all the friends that became family. And yeah, I started to look for that opportunity. So the Pachuca opportunity came up as a team manager. And I started a career there. Obviously, I at the beginning, I must uh confess I I wasn't aware what a team manager was because to be honest, you are passionate about football, you follow football and go to games and everything, but you don't know what's behind the scenes. And when I arrived, Pachuca, I started learning and understanding what's behind the the curtains, and it's amazing. That was a uh a nice school and and and good learning for me. And then almost two years later is when when America has the opportunity, arrived.

Why Club America Fans Believe

Speaker 2:59

Thank you for sharing.

Beth Bobbitt 3:00

So Club America has one of the most passionate fan bases in the world. What do you think drives that level of loyalty and energy?

Claudia Carrión Rojas 3:09

Well, uh I think it's the history and the passion from the fans to the team and the players and all the people that belong to the club are passionate about it. So I think that's that's one thing that everyone shares. And it's not in post. It's genuine, and and everyone, even though you're not a part of the club, like working in the club, knows that there's this magic about it, and when you become part of it, uh you completely understand it, and and you've believe me, you go nuts because this is one of the dreams.

Beth Bobbitt 3:52

Talk us through the approach to community engagement when you're traveling to new cities and region. Um, you know, what is the growth strategy of America being in the US?

Claudia Carrión Rojas 4:05

Yeah, as you may know, women's football has been, well, at least in Mexico, almost 10 years of history, like uh properly, because as you may know, there was Copa 71 that that was played in the Azteca Stadium at the moment, now Stadio Anorte. And it was massive uh more than a hundred thousand people gathering for for a women's match. It was um well, I didn't get to to live that, but you see the documentary and and it's it's crazy. And now that the league has created and it has almost 10 years of history, what we're looking for is not to become just one of the best teams in Mexico, but one of the best teams in the world. Because we truly believe that we have a potential to do that. And with women's football being relatively new, that's why we think that we can compete against US teams, the N and WSL teams, and we have the structure and and we're investing in the way that we know we can compete and we can become one of the best teams in in the world. And that's why we're looking for this international internationalization and looking for new opportunities in the US. We have a lot of market in in California and Texas, but we're looking for for new new windows that we can share this passion with.

Beth Bobbitt 5:36

Yeah. We are excited to be one of those new

Golden Clash Details And Rivalry

Claudia Carrión Rojas 5:40

windows. And if you don't already know by now, listeners, the Golden Clash is coming to Northwest Arkansas. This is a major international football doubleheader with both women and men's teams on March 28th at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. So, Claudia, tell us a little bit more about this. Why is it a big deal? Who's playing? Yeah, we're playing against Tigres that in the woman's side, well, almost almost in the in the men's side as well, has become a classic, a derby. And it's really interesting because we've had almost four finals against the the two teams, Tigres and us. And it's a it's a match that is gaining importance, that is uh a big rivalry, quality football, and and we want to share this passion and this quality football with all of the fans in the US for there to experience this kind of football and to share with them the thing that we get to to live every seven or or five days here in Mexico. And I want to to invite the people to to come to this match because they're gonna know what women's football is, obviously uh uh in the men's side as well. But sometimes as the league is new, they don't have the opportunity to watch our games or or something like that. So we're willing to to share this with the people and the fans in uh Northwest Arkansas, so they can fall in love with America Feminine.

Beth Bobbitt 7:16

Yes. This is history in the making. So we'd love to hear a little bit more about what to expect for people that may have not ever experienced anything like Club America. Why would they want to go and what can they experience the day of?

Claudia Carrión Rojas 7:30

Yeah, it's it's like I mentioned, quality football. We've built a big project and the two teams uh involved, Tigres and us, we invest the most in women's football. We have foreign players that are in big national teams like uh world champions, like Irene Guerrero, for example, and Jenny Hermoso in on the other side. So, as well, we have Mexican players that are the base of the national team in Mexico. So the fans can experience this excitement, and we're thrilled to be there to show them how we live the experience in Mexico and how they can become part of this because uh what we're trying to do is to do a lot of friendly matches or matches around the US for the fans to know what we have and know that it's a different product, the man's side and the woman's side.

Beth Bobbitt 8:34

Right.

Claudia Carrión Rojas 8:34

And we're growing a lot, we're doing it wisely, and we truly believe that they're gonna fall in love.

Community Roots In Northwest Arkansas

Beth Bobbitt 8:42

Yes, I think so too. So switching gears, fun fact Bentonville Parks and Rec teams have a Club America logo on their jerseys. I'm curious, do you know how all of this came about?

Claudia Carrión Rojas 8:55

Yeah, let's begin with all of our efforts to to do something with Arkansas. And this match may be just the the big picture, but it's this started like three years ago, to be honest. And that's why we get involved with parks and recreation, and that's why we get involved with uh with all the surroundings and uh the University of Arkansas and all around. Uh, we're trying to do our best efforts to uh be part of the community and and the community to get to know us, and that's uh a big thing for us because it's not only the match. We're trying to get involved with all of their surroundings, and we truly believe that that's the best way to know the community and that and get the community to to know us.

Football As A Cultural Bridge

Beth Bobbitt 9:46

I love that. As you know, soccer or football brings people together across cultures. How do you see events like the Golden Clash strengthening cultural connections between Mexico and the US?

Claudia Carrión Rojas 9:59

Yeah, we we we know there's a lot of fans in the US and a lot of Mexican Americans as well. Just to to have a quick intro, we have, well, more or less the half of the team in the woman's side is Mexican-American. So we started with this idea that Mexican-American players have things and and and another culture that we didn't have at the moment, and that's why uh we started uh understanding all of this culture, and that's why we want to share with with these fans. And we know we're a movement, we we know that through football, like you mentioned, we can change minds and ideas, and we truly believe that this is a good opportunity to get people together. It doesn't matter if if they're non-Mexican-Americans, we want to bring all the people together because sometimes uh having these things in common, like playing football or soccer, it's a great opportunity to get to know each other and to discover some things that you might not even think about. And that's the beauty of football, I think.

Beth Bobbitt 11:15

Yeah, we're so excited to welcome fans.

Why Women’s Sports Matter Long Term

Claudia Carrión Rojas 11:18

I'm I'm wondering what you hope the fans outside the region will take away from their time in Bentonville in northwest Arkansas. Well, we think that they can see what the this product is because they can understand what we've built build building and what women's football is here to stay. Like there's this this campaign that you need more to you need to watch more women's sports all around, not not just football. Because it's a thing that it's becoming more important that we believe that it's building a proper business and and a proper movement that involves not only the ones that are right now involved. We're building this for the future generations and for girls and boys to have new opportunities and that they can truly have these role models and and know that they can become professional players or sporting directors or coaches, and this is more than just the game.

Visiting Bentonville And Final Invite

Speaker 12:24

Yes. Well said.

Beth Bobbitt 12:26

So are there aspects of the local culture, food, or outdoor scene that you know about and you're personally excited to experience while while you're here?

Claudia Carrión Rojas 12:35

I just went like a month ago for a couple of days. I didn't get to to know all the city around. I I get to know the the stadium, obviously, and some of the surroundings, but not a lot. And I'm pretty excited about this second trip to get on to know a little bit more of of the of the city and and to get to experience more of that. We're excited about that too.

Beth Bobbitt 13:03

And we can't conclude this episode without a shout out to our friends at Experience Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas. Thank you for your work to host Club America. Claudia, thank you for your work, and we're so excited to welcome you. Anything else that you want to share before we wrap up?

Claudia Carrión Rojas 13:22

I I just want to invite again the fans, their support, it's very important for us. Uh I truly believe it's gonna be uh a good spectacle, and you're gonna have fun, you're gonna share with friends and family, and uh yeah, enjoy the game. You won't regret it.

Thanks Sponsors And Where To Follow

Beth Bobbitt 13:40

Beautifully said. Thanks so much, Claudia. Thank you.

Speaker 13:45

Whether you're visiting or call Bentonville home, Visit Bentonville is here to help you stay connected to what's happening in our New American Town. Check out the show notes for links to our website, social channels, and newsletter. Thanks for listening.