FILE PHOTO: Actress Judy Reyes arrives as a guest at a special screening of the new film "Colombiana" in Los Angeles, California August 24, 2011. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - American actress Judy Reyes and her partner and director George Valencia might be the latest to beat a path from Hollywood to British soccer but the couple's investment in Watford Women has a grander purpose of tackling a lack of Latina representation.
Reyes, who as the daughter of Dominican immigrants, is passionate about representation and Valencia, who is of mixed Ecuadorean and Colombian descent, hope to build a bridge between Watford and under-served Latina players in the United States.
"In my career, the only way that I understood myself being an actor on screen or on stage was to see people like me who have done it," Reyes, best known for her role in American medical sitcom "Scrubs," said in an interview with Reuters.
"We want to create an example to our communities. In the U.S., access to football is dictated by economic status. Through this partnership with Watford, we want more people who look and sound like us involved in the sport.
"But it is a cachet thing for people in Hollywood to own a team and our goal has always been to go beyond that and do something that's unique from it."
Youth soccer is a multi-billion dollar industry in the U.S., said Valencia, and the pay-to-play model creates a barrier for many kids of colour.
The U.S. women's national team has been strongly criticised for their lack of Latina players.
Hispanics make up about 19% of the total U.S. population.
However, at the 2023 Women's World Cup, Mexican-Americans Sofia Huerta and Ashley Sanchez were the first two Latina players in a U.S. squad for the tournament since Mexican-American Stephanie Cox and Cuban-American Amy Rodriguez in 2011.
NEW PARTNERSHIP
Watford play in the FA Women's National League South, two divisions below the Women's Super League after relegation last season. So why Watford?
A decade ago, Reyes and Valencia founded the Sound of Gol foundation with the vision of making football more accessible to young Latina women.
It was through that project that they met retired U.S. international centre back and former Watford men's captain Jay DeMerit, planting the seed for their new partnership with the club which is based just north-west of London.
"Judy and I thought it would be a great opportunity to come in and expand our vision of what we did with Sound of Gol into Europe, London, women's football, and bringing Latinas over here so they can do something within the game," Valencia said.
DeMerit is also part of the new ownership group and will serve as the club's U.S. ambassador with a specific role of developing new projects with Watford Women.
Among their first steps is a mentorship programme that will see six young Latina women from the Downtown Los Angeles Soccer Club spend time at Watford in January.
"So they can feel football culture and then ultimately bring it back and then transmit that to these little girls," Valencia said.
LATINA PATHWAY
Ultimately, the partnership could become a pathway for Latina women to play for Watford.
"At some point, I would love it," Valencia said. "That would be literally the gold at the end of the rainbow kind of thing."
"We understand that in this sport -- and in my business -- it's who you know, it's a hustle," Reyes added. "So to be able to create that exchange opens up the conversation to people that would never or seldom consider (it)."
Watford's head of women's football Helen Ward said their "undisclosed financial investment" comes at a crucial time after relegation from the Women's Championship hit their finances.
"And this isn't us separating from the men's side of the club, it's staying within it but trying to stand on our own feet a little as well and creating our own story," Ward said.
Reyes, Valencia and DeMerit spoke with Watford supporters and the women's team and staff at the club's Vicarage Road stadium on Saturday.
DeMerit moved to England after being overlooked in the U.S., initially grinding out a career at a ninth tier side before eventually securing a contract with Watford. He feels a personal connection to their goals at the club.
"I love these types of ideas and concepts because I know what it's like," he said. "I know how hard it is to actually make it, because I had to come from so far behind to actually gain my first professional contract."
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; additional reporting by Christian Radnedge; Editing by Ken Ferris)
