News

Under the slogan “Suiting Up for the Pumas in 2022” and as part of International Women’s Day, SQM, Club de Deportes Antofagasta and Club Deportivo SQM Salar signed a three-year collaboration agreement. The entities will work together to position the women’s soccer team at the national level by putting together highly competitive teams of promising young women from throughout the region.

This agreement, which extends the two years of work led by Club Deportivo SQM Salar, includes initiatives such as awarding three scholarships to team members to help train local talent and hiring former Everton player (2015-2016) Angie Vega of Colombia as a coach. Vega served as technical assistant to the Colombian U17, U18 and women’s teams and will be responsible for implementing a strategy to promote a very high level of competition among local players.

“I am really excited to lead this type of project. We’re going to work with the first team, and our mission is to lay the foundation and scout talent throughout the region. It is important to use all of this talent to put together a Division 1 team. Why shouldn’t that happen with a leading professional women’s soccer team?,” the coach said.

Las Pumas player Catalina Castillo was pleased with the new addition: “I am coming in with a really positive attitude. I’m looking to win and to train hard to be able to play my best and finish strong in the championship.”

The initiative was also praised by the region’s governor, Ricardo Díaz, who noted, “Through this partnership, SQM is giving these young people the opportunity to play soccer more professionally in our region. We all have to dream for our stars of the future, dream that the country’s star athletes and future champions will come from this quarry.”

Antofagasta Mayor Jonathan Velásquez expressed his gratitude and recognized the positive impact that these spaces for more female participation has on the community. “We are grateful to SQM for this initiative, especially for this partnership and for contributing to training these women, who are excited to see their dreams come true. The entire city hopes to have future national and South American champions representing Antofagasta and wearing the Las Pumas jersey.”

Strategic Partnership

SQM has sponsored U17 and adult women’s soccer teams through Club de Deportes Antofagasta (CDA) through the club’s management in an effort to create inclusive spaces with a focus on promoting healthy lifestyles.

SQM Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs José Miguel Berguño confirmed this, noting, “We have signed an agreement with CDA to develop women’s soccer. The partnership has been in place for two years, and we are extending it for another three. We have a great coaching staff led by Angie, who has a lot of experience and talent. We have an important agreement and a good team, and are very optimistic that this will be a space for women’s development and inclusion and will serve as an example for the region and Chile as a whole.”

CDA Sales Manager Juan Pablo Morales noted, “We are very proud to have this long-term relationship with SQM, which has given us many tools to advance this project. We are very confident that this will continue for years to come.”

For his part, Club Deportivo SQM Salar President Claudio Castillo commented on the importance of the alliance and noted that this is “another step on the path that we have mapped out for the next three years, which we are very satisfied with and confident in. Contributions from public and private entities are very important, and today our greatest dream has come true, which is to open up spaces and make a team available to players. That’s what is driving the project, which we hope will make us national champions.”

The signing ceremony also included the unveiling of the jersey that the team will wear during the 2022 season.