SQM Salar Sports Club to Sponsor CDA Women’s Soccer Teams

The mining company’s sports club has signed an agreement to sponsor the Club de Deportes Antofagasta (CDA) under-17 and adult women’s soccer teams for the full year 2020. At the event, the new jersey and uniforms the teams will use to defend their title at the national ANFP tournament were also presented.

CDA senior management, SQM executives, regional authorities and members of the Puma-sponsored teams participated in a ceremony to celebrate the signing of the agreement that makes the SQM Salar Sports Club an official sponsor of the under-17 and adult women’s soccer teams.

At the event, which took place as part of festivities to commemorate International Women’s Day, organizers also officially presented the jersey the teams will use to represent Antofagasta in the national ANFP 2020 women’s soccer tournament.

This important milestone for local women’s sports brings the athletes closer to their dream of representing Antofagasta and Chile at the Libertadores Cup. For Priscila Hidalgo, a forward for CDA and the daughter of an SQM employee, this partnership between the mining company and CDA has particularly special meaning. “I am very happy about this agreement because we did not have much local support before. It means a lot to be a daughter of an SQM worker because the company is committed to developing sports and women’s soccer. Without a doubt, we are taking a big step that will help boost our performance and make a name for Antofagasta,” commented the athlete, who is a native of María Elena.

Claudio Castillo, President of the SQM Salar Sports Club, explained: “This partnership between the company and CDA will help repay a debt that the region has with women’s soccer since the region’s great potential and talent has not been appreciated locally.”

He added: “The objective of this project is to have both teams qualify for the Libertadores Cup and we will work hard to do that. As a sponsor, we will make sure the teams have the conditions to perform well. We have set the goal to hold the most important games in the national tournament in María Elena, a town near one of SQM’s facilities that was the birthplace decades ago of talented Chilean athletes.”

Natalia Pizarro, SQM’s People and Development Senior Vice President, explained: “The agreement is certainly a reflection of our gender inclusiveness policy. We are one of the companies in the mining industry with the highest percentage of female workers, currently at 16.4%. This type of partnership reinforces that spirit and, as a company, we are also proud to strengthen healthy living through sports.”

As for the CDA, the club’s Sports Director Víctor Oyarzún remarked, “For us, it is a very important step. We are very happy about this support, which will directly benefit athletes. We want them to feel comfortable and cared for by the institution and we hope this partnership reflects the joint work we are doing because of and for them.”

Sports are a powerful tool for strengthening bonds and related values such as loyalty, effort, solidarity and camaraderie.