Iberdrola : Ignacio Galán visits members of Senior National Women's Football Team after brilliant performance qualifying for 2017 UEFA EURO tournament in Holland

The company has committed to promoting female participation in all areas of sport

• IBERDROLA has been supporting the national squad since 2014 and this year it also became the official sponsor of the Women's Football First Division in Spain

IBERDROLA's Chairman, Ignacio Galán, visited the players from the Senior National Soccer Team today at the Football City complex in Las Rozas (Madrid), where they are staying before the official match against Finland scheduled for tomorrow at the Butarque Stadium, Leganés.

Ignacio Galán assured the players of the company's support for the national squad. It first started to sponsor the team in November 2014, renewing this sponsorship in recent times. He also congratulated them on having already qualified on the basis of the points achieved for the upcoming UEFA Women's EURO football tournament, which will be held in Holland in 2017. It is also the first time the team has qualified on a direct basis, after winning the full 21 out of 21 points possible so far in the qualifying stage.

This support is part of IBERDROLA's overall commitment to promoting female participation in all areas of sport, which recently led to the signing of agreements to sponsor the Women's Football First Division and back the Universo Mujer scheme run by the Spanish Higher Council for Sport (CSD).

To be more specific, the company signed an agreement in August to boost the Women's Football First Division. It is referred to as the 'IBERDROLA League' and is considered to have professional status. It was launched on 4 September and the 16 participating teams will play a total of 240 games in 30 rounds.

IBERDROLA is also the first company to make an overall commitment to women's sport in Spain, after signing the aforementioned agreement with the CSD. The company will be supporting various sports federations, including rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, football, triathlon, badminton, canoeing and rugby. Additional federations may be added in future. These sports were selected on account of the extraordinary level of success achieved, the high participation rate, the existence of schemes to promote the sport at grassroots level and other social projects.

The company wishes to promote in women's sport the same principles of action that it implements in the company and which are included among its key values: equal opportunities for women and men and support for women's professional careers.

Now is a special time for women's sport in Spain, on account of the talent of our sportswomen and the successes achieved in recent years. It comes as no surprise that they achieved brilliant results in the Rio Olympic Games, securing 9 of the 17 medals won by Spain and matching the women's record of four gold medals obtained in the 1992 Barcelona Games.

As Ignacio Galán explains, 'consolidating and ensuring that this high competitive standard continues to improve is a task for the institutions and the sports clubs and one that is also deserving of support from the private sector'.

IBERDROLA is one of the leading sponsors of the Spanish Paralympic Team and the Paralympic Sailing Team. It has also been involved in the ADOP Plan since it was launched in 2005. It has backed the Spanish Paralympic Team at the Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. The group's contribution to Paralympic sport was acknowledged in 2013 with the Olimpia Award from the Higher Council for Sport (CSD).