Moving the Goalposts | ‘We’re witnessing extraordinary change’: Ecuador get ready for Copa América Femenina

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Gigi Moreira is more than just the captain of Ecuador’s women’s national team – she’s an ambassador for a country that this summer has a chance to showcase the steps forward it has taken when it hosts the 2025 Copa América Femenina in July and August. The tournament represents a real opportunity to accelerate the growth of the women’s game in the region.

The 32-year-old defender, who is playing for Fundación Albacete in Spain’s second division, has worked tirelessly to transform Ecuadorian women’s football for years now with her sister, Gissela, and they founded Moreira Fútbol Femenino, the country’s first football school exclusively for girls, in 2015. The school offers training for girls as young as four – an opportunity the sisters never had.

“Gissela is one year older than me but we began training together when I was 12, and she was 13, at a football school for boys,” Moreira tells Moving the Goalposts. Both sisters made it to the women’s under-17 national team but only Gigi pursued a professional career with Gisella instead studying physical education to become a manager, putting her love for football into teaching.

“Looking at what’s happening in Ecuador, we’re witnessing extraordinary change,” Moreira says. “Clubs are now implementing policies to recruit and develop girls at a much younger age. Over the years, this transformation has become more and more evident.”

The process of developing their football school has also sparked a passion for management in Gigi. “There were no such schools to inspire or teach us how to start,” she recalls. “It was just the two of us improvising and learning as we went on. In a way, we became pioneers by creating this school. Many other players thought girls should start learning football at a young age but we were the ones who turned that idea into reality. It is not just a project any more, it’s real.”

Their shared love for football also strengthened their bond as sisters. Since starting the football school, Moreira says they have become inseparable. “We’re always together now,” she says with a laugh. But that wasn’t always the case. “When we were in the under-17 national team, we were like those teenage sisters no one even realised were related. She had her friends, and I had mine. But we always looked out for each other and protected each other. Over time, we realised how important it was to have each other’s support.”

The defender has been a part of the national team for over a decade, taking Ecuador to their historic debut at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada. She believes that the experience opened the country’s eyes to the need for greater investment in women’s football. “When we went to the World Cup in Canada, the other teams completely outplayed us. We realised there was a lack of proper development in Ecuador.” Now, hosting a big tournament on the continental stage, she hopes for better results. “As a national team we have a lot of potential. We’ll take advantage of playing at home, with our fans cheering us on from the stands.”

Gigi Moreira puts Japan’s Yuri Kawamura under pressure at the 2015 World Cup

For Moreira, developing youth football in Ecuador is essential when it comes to ensuring future success – and progress is already visible. In 2024 the Ecuador under-17 team reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup. In the group stage, they beat the Dominican Republic and New Zealand, only losing to Nigeria. Reaching the quarter-finals was a historic result, even though they lost that game 5-0 to Spain. “Many players from that team are already part of the senior national squad, so in a way, we understand that everything starts at grassroots level,” she says.

Another key focus for Moreira is to achieve better conditions in Ecuador’s domestic league, particularly the first division, the Superliga. Despite progress, disparities remain among clubs, with some players still needing to balance football with work or studies. However, clubs such as Dragonas Independiente del Valle are setting new standards. In 2023 they inaugurated their own training centre and went on to win the 2024 season of the Superliga unbeaten, and finish fourth in the Copa Libertadores.

Having left Ecuador before the Superliga’s foundation in 2019, Moreira has never played professionally in her home country – as the previous competition, the Serie A Femenina, was considered amateur. Having played in Colombia, Brazil and Spain she has observed the league’s evolution from afar.

“Over time, the Superliga has improved structurally and become more competitive,” she says. “More clubs are taking it seriously, even developing initiatives for their youth teams. Many players are now paid salaries, get proper nutrition programmes and benefit from better overall structures.” According to Moreira, this progress has also influenced players’ ambitions. “Ecuadorian players now understand the importance of personal growth. Many want to move abroad and gain experience in different countries. In the long term, this growth will be exponential.”

She is also optimistic about recent changes in South American Women’s World Cup qualification. National teams will now compete in dedicated qualifiers rather than relying on the Copa América for entry. “We can now focus solely on playing for the Copa América title and then shift our attention to the World Cup.”

“Playing a qualifier is very different to a friendly. Every point matters and the games become far more intense,” Moreira says. “Now that we’re hosting the Copa América in Ecuador and with the next World Cup in Brazil we need to care more about the women’s game in South America. We must continue to publicise it and ensure visibility for players, clubs, and national teams – just as we’re doing now.”