News

The Games have kicked off in Paris and have done so with an unprecedented milestone: they will be the first to achieve gender parity. Thus, 50% of the 10,500 athletes competing in the French capital from 26 July to 11 August will be women. This is an achievement in which Iberdrola has played a part − supporting two of the main committees, the Spanish and Brazilian.

In both cases, this will be the first edition ever with more women than men. For instance, the Spanish team will have 192 female athletes, 50.3% of the total; and 190 men, 49.7%, while in the Brazilian team the proportion is 153 women, 55.4%; and 123 men, 44.6%.

The Group has played a key role in the all-time records presented by Spain and Brazil at the Paris event through the implementation of numerous equality policies, in which promoting women's sport is one of their key drivers. In Spain, 24 of the 35 national federations supported by Iberdrola will participate in Paris, contributing 173 athletes, 90.1% of the total.

In addition, 20 of the 35 members of the Iberdrola Ambassadors programme will be part of the Spanish team. Through this programme, the company aims to inspire and give visibility to the over 800,000 federated sportswomen who make up the 35 federations it currently supports.

Neoenergia signs agreement with the Brazilian Olympic Committee

In Brazil, Neoenergia has just signed an agreement until 2025 with the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) to become one of its main supporters in terms of gender equality and sustainability, benefiting athletes from multiple sports.

With this, Iberdrola's subsidiary is furthering its commitment to strengthening women's sport in the South American country, which began with the sponsorship of the Brazilian national football team and the national club championship − Brasileirão Feminino Neoenergia.

Through this partnership, Neoenergia, a benchmark in Brazil's energy transition, will support the COB in its decarbonisation goals, providing the sports body with energy solutions and implementing sustainability actions that will reduce CO2 emissions from its Centro de Entrenamiento Time Brasil (Time Brazil Training Centre), located in Rio de Janeiro.

Global commitment to promoting equality through sport

Brazil and Spain are not the only examples of the global and pioneering commitment to women's sport that Iberdrola began in 2016. In Scotland, its subsidiary ScottishPower is the main sponsor of Scottish Women's Football (SWF) and the Scottish league, as well as sponsor of the Scottish Youth Challenge Cups, in all three age groups, and of the Scottish Women's Highlands and Islands League.

As part of its commitment to equity and inclusion, Iberdrola Mexico has launched the DestElla programme in Mexico to promote women’s growth and empowerment through sport. In this first phase, DestElla will promote the women's branch of the Mexican Rugby Federation.

In Portugal, the company will be the main driver of all senior women's football until 2027, following the recent agreement reached with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) to sponsor the Portuguese national team and the FPF's club competitions: the BPI League, Portuguese Cup, Super Cup and League Cup.