Alexia Putellas, the captain of FC Barcelona, received the Medal of Honour awarded by the Catalan Parliament to the FC Barcelona women's team on Wednesday.
Alexia, in her turn to speak, made a speech that was both vindicating and, at the same time, emotional. Past, present and future appeared in her words and she assured that, despite what has been achieved so far, the movement will not stop and advocated that "the changes that we all ask for are so that no woman, inside or outside of football, will ever have to live a situation of contempt, disrespect or abuse."
Here is Alexia Putellas's full speech:
"This distinction is a paradigm shift. Society is changing and is demanding it. The role of women must be fundamental in the development and growth of Catalan society.
"We are the first men's or women's team to be distinguished with this Medal of Honour. This would have been unthinkable five, 15, 20 years ago, but it has happened. It is happening and if it has happened it is because society is changing and has brought us this far.
"And as we have not achieved anything from scratch, I would like to thank all those pioneers who, before our arrival, promoted women's sport at Barça or in other organisations. This Medal also belongs to them, we are very aware of that.
"As Barça, I believe that we are helping to build a fairer, more equal society with more opportunities through football. Our efforts and our victories are making us a point of reference for many children, young people and adults. And that entails a great responsibility: we have to do it well.
"Our commitment to women's sport and society is unquestionable. But we need more help to keep growing, so that this is not just a fad. And here, if I may, I would like to demand
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