Last June 11 Barça Onethe streaming platform of the FC Barcelonapremiered the documentary “Mother and football”, One of its most ambitious original productions. Of marked international will, it can be understood as a declaration of intentions for the platform to become a meeting point for fans and spectators around the world.

The documentary addresses the complex issue of Maternity in the race of elite athletes, and does so through the stories of Irene Paredes, player of FC Barcelona and the Spanish team; Amel Majri, Olympique player of Lyon and the French team; Marta Corredera, former player of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid; Almut Schult, German international exporter; and Alice Pignagnoli, Palazzolo player.

It is an intimate, raw and honest story that puts on the table a necessary conversation not only for international sport, but for society in general. In addition, “Mother and Football” collects the vision of the Catalan club on the strategic importance of the content to build brand, reach new audiences and boost growth. Above all we talk exclusively with Jordi Abel, Responsible for Content in Barça Studios, and Marta BusquetsDirector of the documentary that can be seen here.

Jordi Abel and Marta Busquets

RW. Why this documentary and why now? It is the first, or perhaps the one that goes beyond football itself, which is the main content of the platform.

Jordi Abel. For leaving, everything gets out. You get out of sport, football and even Barça, because there is only one team player. Beyond what it supposes for the club, in terms of story or values, we liked the story and it seemed very good theme. If not, we would not have done it. We liked the idea of ​​telling the story, one that when we started is not as treated as it is today. The project has survived the passage of time and different responsible, because it required time to do it well. He also liked the idea of ​​giving voice to a delicate situation in women’s professional sport, and doing it with players beyond Barça.

Marta Busquets. We started the project more than five years ago. We analyzed women’s football and we saw around motherhood a series of challenges for the players, among them, if they could really decide to be a mother and how, what challenges they had ahead and why there were no more mothers in the teams.

RW. It is not an easy topic or production. How was the management of protagonists? Have you hugged the project or have there been reluctance?

MB There has been a bit of everything. Above all we are grateful because it is a sensitive and vulnerable issue for some, such as Amel, who opened the doors of his house when his daughter had just born and faced a postpartum depression. It has been very important work the connection with the players, That they felt comfortable, that they understood that at all times the idea was to put on the table something that was beyond the individual, something bigger, and that we were going to treat their cases with the utmost respect for all.

We were looking for a variety and we have stayed with those five cases because they also represent a broad spectrum. We have the case of Irene Paredes, who is a non -pregnant mother, that of Amel, who we have been able to follow the entire process, or Almut Schult, who does not find a team. It has been incredible to be able to have these testimonies and has been very generous for its part.

RW. Three of the five protagonists are not Spanish. Has there been an international intention in the documentary?

Ha On the one hand, the sample was not infinite or much less and, on the other, there was a will to represent possible countries in a nearby area, the European sphere. It was considered including the United States, where there is a lot of conversation in this regard, but the product, the process, the timings, and the budget were complicated. We liked to go beyond Barça, from Spain, and we did it naturally within the search for profiles and stories.

Barça One is a global platform that is present today in Europe and America, and in the Roadmap is reaching more regions. The international ambition of the documentary also responds to a possible content route Beyond our platform, that is, it can be distributed in other services, and we get it with the representation of players from Spain, Italy, France and Germany. In the first phase we have released in Barça One, but the idea is to try to see it as much people as possible.

RW. The creative and technical team has been composed of women. Has it been deliberate? What has contributed to the documentary?

MB There was a will to have female team, but it was not in any case restrictive. The intention of having a base team that were women was, on the one hand, because in the audiovisual there have been historically more difficulty for women when accessing certain positions, and on the other, to create an environment of Sensitivity and vulnerability Towards the issue that has given confidence to the players.

RW. What have you found more challenging production? The most rewarding?

Ha I think the most challenging has been how Build a story From five small stories. We have five quite different stories between them and together with meaning was a challenge. Also that what we were doing was understood, that the commitment to content and history was understood, and why get out of what football and sport is,

MB For me the challenge has been the relationship with the players and treat their moments of vulnerability. Sometimes I even felt guilty of being at certain times. Specifically, the sequence in which Amel is bathing the girl, and at the same time, watching a game of her team on TV. It seemed very nice, but at the same time very intimate. I would like to highlight the generosity of the players, and that the club has supported us With the subject. Everyone has understood the importance of the project and has been able to see what we wanted to tell.

RW. How does it fit into the club’s speech? The documentary launches a certain negative message on sector …

Ha Barça has demonstrated in recent years its commitment to women’s sport, taking the club to professionalization in 2015. It is committed to the players, with equality, with the values ​​that have founded it. It is true that hard messages are launched in the documentary, both personally and collectively. For example, Irene acknowledges that she was going to train with fear, or Marta Corredera’s experience with her physical problems …
Barça makes self -criticism if it has to do it, but there is no club that has talked about this subject. That Barça does so makes sense and fits what is working For a long time and what the club wants to convey.

MB I think the message goes beyond clubs. That a player if she becomes pregnant has to interrupt her career reflects that a change of global mentality is necessary. And it is a reflection that can be extrapolate many other cases of women In their workplaces. That motherhood is not seen as something that stops you, but how it can be integrated, how to wrap that player, how to get it part of her sports and vital project. Almut said that being a mother has made her better player, who is more resilient and, above all, she is happier because she is fulfilling her family project. That shows that motherhood must be respected and accompanied by companies, laws and society.

RW. What does this documentary contribute to Barça One?

Ha What happens with the sports documentaries of the clubs is that hardly a fan of other clubs will consume a content focused on another club. “Mother and Football” provides a variety at the content level, because in the end we focus a lot on football and in the course of the seasons. Contributes Go beyond football, Barça and their fans. It is a content that other fans could consume it, or even spectators who do not follow football.

RW. Is it a reflection of Barça Studios’s abilities?

Ha We are an audiovisual production center at the service of the club, we make mostly content for day to day. But I think that with this work it is demonstrated that there is space for creative freedom. Reflects our ability to Build content The most interesting as possible, it gives us brand, makes sense.

RW. What role is playing the content and platform Barça Studios in the FC Barcelona brand?

Ha The club believes that it is a fantastic form for connect with the fan. The content fulfills an informative function, which has to do with the present, and another of entertainment. Barça One is where we work the most. It is the place where we try to make people spend more time, that they see content in a more relaxed way, of a longer duration, with more premium content.
In the end it is the platform where all the video contents of the club converge.

RW. Barça One showed up in March 2024. What assessment do you do so far?

Ha We are happy with the implementation and first year of the platform. It is true that we are in a context of a multitude of platforms, products, content, even of the same club in different channels. It is a lot of content but we do it because we understand that our fan claims it.

This documentary opens the door to continue doing these types of projects. The intention with Barça One is to get to new marketscombine the daily content with others more premium and that the club has a platform or a connection route with the fan, both for which information claims, and for the one who seeks entertainment.