Club Tigres UANL Femenil hosted FC Bayern Munich Frauen in a friendly match on Saturday night in Monterrey. This match is part of a new partnership between the clubs, which will hopefully help women’s football continue to flourish in Mexico. The Liga MX Femenil is only six years old, but it attracts many fans throughout the country.
The match
Tigres found their way on the scoresheet fairly early as Uchenna Kanu headed a beautiful cross from Lizbeth Ovalle into the goal in the 20th minute. Bayern scrambled to score an equalizer, but Tigres locked them down in the box, leading to a 1-0 result. Over 34,900 fans attended the match in Estadio Universitario and global fans were able to watch for free on YouTube.
Pero qué asistencia de @lizbethovalle7, magia pura para que aerolíneas @UcheOfficial_ llegue a su cita con el gol. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/wiRAhB84qT
— Tigres Femenil 🐯 (@TigresFemenil) January 21, 2023
The partnership
Tigres and Bayern announced their partnership in December 2022. The purpose of the partnership is to help grow the game in Mexico. The match is the official kickoff of the partnership, which will also include development opportunities. Every year, Tigres will send three players and coaches to Munich to train at the Bayern campus alongside the women’s team. This is similar to the partnership between the Chicago Red Stars and VfL Wolfsburg, which launched in 2022.
Growing the game in Mexico
Liga MX Femenil has grown more and more popular since it started. While many people outside of Mexico continue to discount the quality of the game in the league, it’s there and it’s only getting better. Big names like Jenni Hermoso and Mia Fishel have recently opted to play in the league and others may soon follow. While some may think the NWSL is a more competitive league, that’s not the case. Tigres beat the Houston Dash in 2019 and Rayadas de Monterrey beat the Portland Thorns in 2022. This win over Bayern Munich is just another demonstration that the Liga MX Feminil is competitive and that their teams should be taken seriously.
Which teams would you like to join partnerships in 2023? Let me know in the comments below. Follow me on Twitter and check out Beyond Women’s Sports for more women’s sports coverage. Want to start watching the NWSL and WSL? You can do that here.
