Now was the right moment to come home
After eight years living abroad and 16 years living away from Madrid, I really felt the need to come home. Whilst in Washington, I could sense the great expectation back in Spain with the rebranding and fresh investment into the women's league; and the project being set up by C.D. Tacón seemed the perfect motive for me to return. It's a Second Division club, but with the structure of a top tier club. Our principal objective is to get the team promoted to the Primera División Femenina; I'm aware that some people are saying that the team could become the next Real Madrid women's team - that might or might not happen, we'll see. I signed for C.D. Tacón and right now I am only thinking about experiencing again all of the things I went through abroad and being accepted as a professional footballer - in my home town.
All of us would love to see a Real Madrid women's team because it would bring so much extra emotion to the competition. But for now, unfortunately that isn't the case - just as we are on the cusp of something truly historic for the women's game in Spain. The start of the new league season, sponsored by Iberdrola, reminds me a lot of the English league, when their Football Association decided to inject money to give women's football a fresh impulse with the creation of the FA Women's Super League in 2011. That was certainly a watershed moment. Following that, you could instantly see the results - the product was sold better, players gained more prominence. Something similar is now happening in Spain. Iberdrola, with support from the AFE and LaLiga... Now, more than ever, I felt it was time to come home.
Laura del Río joined CD Tacón from NWSL side, Washington Spirit.