A transformation that can no longer be ignored
In 2019, the Women's World Cup in France was watched by more than 1.1 billion people around the world. In 2023, the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand surpassed that mark. In Latin America, women's soccer stopped being a peripheral phenomenon to become one of the fastest growing sectors of regional sports.
FIFA numbers confirm it: in the last five years, the number of registered female players in South America grew by more than 50%. In Mexico, the number of women's licenses tripled between 2018 and 2024. In Colombia, the professional women's league went from being a modest structure to becoming a regional reference.
What is driving this growth? And what does it mean in terms of real opportunities for female players in the region?
Regional growth data
Argentina
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) reported more than 120,000 federated players in 2024, compared to 28,000 in 2018. The Women's Professional League, which began as a semi-amateur project, today has 16 teams and regular television broadcasting. Argentine players are present in leagues in Spain, Mexico, Brazil and the United States.
Brazil
Brazil historically has the highest absolute number of women's soccer players in the region. With names like Marta as a cultural reference, Brazilian women's football has infrastructure, investment from large clubs and an active export market to Europe and Asia. The demand for Brazilian players in European leagues was especially high in 2024 and 2025.
Colombia
Colombia became the case study of Latin American women's football. The Colombian National Team obtained historic results in the 2023 World Cup, which triggered unprecedented institutional and commercial interest. Several Colombian players signed with first division teams in Spain and France in the months following the tournament.
Mexico
The Liga MX Femenil, created in 2017, is today one of the most followed women's leagues in America. With the 2026 World Cup in North American territory, investment in Mexican women's soccer is at its highest point in history.
The concrete opportunities that exist today
Growth is not just statistical. It translates into real opportunities that simply did not exist before:
- More clubs with professional or semi-professional women's teams.The proliferation of regional leagues in Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Peru means more available places, more contracts and more possibilities to build a career without having to emigrate.
- Growing international demand.European second and third division clubs—especially in Spain, Portugal, Sweden and the Netherlands—have limited budgets but activate searches in Latin America because the quality-cost value is very favorable.
- University scholarships in the United States.The NCAA system has thousands of women's soccer programs with partial or full scholarships. It is a channel that many Latin American players underestimate.
- Digital visibility as a lever.Scouts looking for female players in Latin America depend even more on digital tools than in the male case, because the in-person scouting infrastructure is less developed.
The obstacle that stops many players
Despite the growth, there is a structural problem that limits the opportunities of the majority: visibility. A player with sufficient level to compete in a second-rate Spanish league or an American university league can go years without anyone outside her local environment knowing she exists.
Latin American women's football has a deficit in representation infrastructure. Agents specializing in female players are rare. Scouting networks are limited. And many players do not have a professional profile that adequately represents them outside their local contexts.
That is a problem that can be solved, and that technology is in a position to solve today.
What makes this historical moment different
The difference between current growth and previous cycles is institutionalization. The leagues have more structure, the clubs have more budget, the media has more interest and the sponsors are putting in real money. This creates a context in which investing in your career—in your profile, in your visibility, in your positioning—has a concrete return.
EnFutbol CVwe built a platform designed for all Latin American soccer players, men and women. If you're a gamer and want to make sure you're on the radar when the right quest comes along,create your free profileand secure your place. The time is now.