Women´s football became popular in Spain many years ago. I am ashamed of saying that although I knew it existed, I did not really find out about it until 2012. That year, the team I played for, used to train after a women´s football team that played in Spain´s 1st division. Since I was injured that year, I had show up for training one hour earlier so I could get ready with the athletic trainers. Once I finished the treatment I stayed to see their training session and the played well… Actually, they played great!!
Lola Gallardo (Atlético de Madrid and Spain´s national team)
I started to follow women´s football, specially goalkeepers. Some of them were sponsored by brands, some others weren´t. Therefore we (SP) signed two goalkeepers that had great potential, who also played for the national team´s academy: Sara Serrat and Esther Sullastres. I started talking to them about the troubles they experienced with their gloves. Their answers were the same: men´s hands are very wide, ours is thinner and longer. They had to play with gloves that adapted to their hands´ length but way wider.
Esther Sullastres testing the first prototypes of the Earhart model
Several months after, we were able to develop the first goalkeeper glove for women: the SP Earhart. Is this a marketing strategy or is there a real adaptation process behind this model? Of course there is. These are the main features of the SP Earhart glove:
- Tighter structure so it fits the female hand perfectly.
- Light backhand. Almost 50% of the backhand is made of textile, which keeps it from becoming a very reinforced and heavy glove.
- Key reinforcements. The backhand´s core and the fingertips are equipped with a reinforcement made of latex to improve the glove´s structure.
Lola Gallardo (Atlético de Madrid and Spain´s national team)
We were very conservative at the beginning. The first goalkeeper glove for women was the SP Earhart, a medium-range glove. However, women´s football had already achieved quite a high level. Therefore, a new demand came up: high-range gloves for women, so we started to work in order to make it happen. The number of female goalkeepers sponsored by SP kept growing, so we had a larger amount of feedback. In addition to Sara Serrat and Esther Sullastres, we had also signed Sandra Paños (FC Barcelona), Elena de Toro (Albacete), Amaia Peña (Athletic Club) and Noelia Ramos (Granadilla Tenerife). All of them played for Spain´s national team. The outcome was a second generation of SP Earhart, this time equipped with Gigagrip latex, roll-negative cut, MPF textile and all the necessary elements to make an elite glove out of it.
Esther Sullastres (Valencia CF and Spain´s national team) wearing the second generation of Earhart
We had finally created an entire collection of gloves for women. Besides the high-range model, we had also developed the SP Earhart Iconic (mid-range) and the SP Earhart Hardground for firm ground. The collection was complete, however we weren´t done yet. In 2016 we were able to sign Lola Gallardo, goalkeeper for Atletico de Madrid, starting goalkeeper for Spain´s national team and one of the best when it comes to glove-related knowledge. Therefore her feedback would become very important for SP. The first thing I did when I met her? I gave her the new generation of Earhart gloves so she could try them.
Lola Gallardo during the first test of the new generation of Earhart
Now we know what Lola wants in a glove… We are already working on the 2017 Earhart, which will be absolutely outstanding, and a true revolution. We still have a long way to go, but until then, I encourage all the female goalkeepers following us to try the new SP Earhart collection, available in three ranges:
- SP Earhart PRO, professional level competition gloves.
- SP Earhart Iconic, mid-range gloves for competition or training.
- SP Earhart Training, gloves for training or initiation to competition.
If you are also looking for football boots for women, remember we have an entire section just for you. Click on the name and find out all the models we have available.
