“To move forward we have to understand where we come from, a patriarchal society where women have been excluded for years.” Iris Miquel
Iris Miquel, a passionate sports broadcaster from a small town near Barcelona, has always had football in her life.
Growing up, she spent her afternoons playing football with friends and watching matches alongside her father, fostering a love for the sport that would later define her career.
After living in A Coruña, where she worked as a photographer covering Deportivo de la Coruña, Iris returned to her hometown in 2020, where she enjoys the tranquillity of small-town life but remains connected to the bustling football scene of Barcelona, which shaped her early fandom.
“I was born and raised in a small town near Barcelona,” explains Iris. “I moved away and lived for 5 years in A Coruña where I worked as a photographer for a sports media that covered Deportivo de la Coruña.
“In 2020 I went back to my hometown and now I’m happy living here. It’s less stressful than Barcelona and I can go there whenever I want. “
In 2021, Iris made a bold career shift from being behind the camera to being in front of it, taking up an opportunity with Diario SPORT as a content creator, where her genuine passion for football and storytelling quickly resonated with audiences.
Her hard work in the industry has been rewarded with the opportunity to work with the likes of EA Sports FC España, where she interviewed an icon of women’s football, Aitana Bonmati. She has also sat down with the likes of Champions League winner, Juliano Belletti and Arsenal Manager, Mikael Arteta.
“I will never forget the day I travelled to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, to watch Arsenal take on Sevilla and have the chance to discuss football with Mikael Arteta.
“I was super nervous but I felt ready to do that because I had been waiting for that moment for a long, long time.”
The ordinary days are my favourite ones
Yet, despite her growing success, Iris remains humble, driven by a desire to support women in sports and to share authentic stories from stadiums across the globe.
Despite having the opportunity to mix with some of football’s elite, Iris remains incredibly grounded and down to earth, and when she’s not working it is the simple things in life which bring her happiness.
“If I had to describe my ideal day it would be a normal one. I feel lucky that I enjoy my day-to-day life. Working in the morning, having lunch with my boyfriend at home and then going to a Barça match would be perfect.
“I also enjoy travelling to other cities to attend matches or events and meeting new people, these experiences are very rewarding but If I had to choose, the ordinary days are my favourite ones.”
The Atlantic Dispatch sat down with Iris to reflect on her journey so far, as well as her admiration for legendary players like Deco and Ronaldinho, her thoughts on equality in sports, and the joys of discovering football cultures in different cities. She also opens up about the challenges of content creation and her ambitions for the future.
He made me fall in love with that club
I can’t even remember my life without football. I used to play it every single afternoon after school with my friends and I remember that my father and I used to watch football together. When my mum had plans with her friends we would spend Saturday night watching matches.
Many years ago, when more football games started being broadcast and we gained access to more matches, I remember falling in love with Deco and Ronaldinho.
I also was amazed by Valencia, they had such a good team with Mata, Marchena, and Baraja. I grew up supporting Barcelona because my father was a huge supporter. He made me fall in love with that club and I’m always going to be proud of that.
I’m a true football fan
I had never been in front of a camera until 2021. As I mentioned I used to work as a photographer and I enjoyed being behind the screen although I had a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. But I had an opportunity to work as a content creator for Diario SPORT and at that moment I felt that I could do it.
What people enjoy most about my content is that I’m a true football fan. You know that I’m not trying to pretend. When I travel to different countries I always try to find tickets and see the local teams and I enjoy recording and telling stories.
I think people still discredit content creation due to a lack of awareness but I understand that because it’s a new job position.
It looks like an easy and effortless job but usually, people only see the positives and don’t realise the arduous work that is behind.
It’s a very satisfying job but it also carries a lot of work because sometimes the activities you are doing in your free time are still work.
Why are people still surprised about a woman who talks about football?
For me supporting women across football and sport is the key to equality. To move forward we have to understand where we come from, a patriarchal society where women have been excluded for years.
However, I feel that something is changing. But there’s still a lot of work to do. I receive a lot of comments insulting me just because I am a woman.
I don’t care what people say about me, but what I care about is why people are still surprised that a woman talks about football.
There is still so much more I’d love to achieve in my career. My ambition is to grow as a content creator. I’m not talking about growing in terms of followers (that is also nice because obviously the more people you reach, the more money you get). But what makes me happy is being proud of my content, so I really would like to improve it. There are a lot of cities and stadiums still to discover and stories to be told.
All our thanks to Iris Miquel for her time.
You can follow Iris on social media here.