Friday Futbolita – The Parisian making waves in Asia.
January 25, 2019By Futbolita
Despite traditionally being a man’s domain, in recent years, the football industry has grown into a more progressive space for women. With the Bundesliga paving the way by introducing a female referee for the first time last season in Bibiana Steinhaus, to women occupying senior positions (La Liga Eibar has a female CEO in Patricia Rodriguez), and female commentators and pundits (ex-England and Arsenal’s Alex Scott), women are slowly turning the tide.
Futbolita.com has launched a weekly series called #FridayFutbolita, which is a column profiling women in football around the world. With the aim of spreading knowledge of these activities and their stories, #FridayFutbolita hopes to inspire and educate everyone about possibilities of making it in football.
This week, we feature Camille Petit from Paris Saint-Germain, a dynamic individual who has already made her small mark at the glamorous club.
“I’m currently working for Paris Saint-Germain Football Club as International Coordinator for the Asia Pacific region (I am based in Singapore) and I have been with PSG for almost three years now,” she explained. “I actually started in the Paris office in the department in charge of the international development of the Club before moving to the sponsorship department, where I was focusing mainly on business development and business intelligence.“
Indeed, working for arguably the most high-profile French club in the world, boasting stars from the World Cup wonderkid Kylian Mbappe to Neymar, Edinson Cavani, and now Gianluigi Buffon, has its perks.
Camille has been involved in various aspects of the club, working closely with all departments and educating the public about PSG.
“Apart from the French national team, I have always been following and supporting Paris Saint-Germain as I grew up in the suburbs of Paris and have always been exposed to the Club,” Camille said. “I found it natural for me to support the Club I grew up with and at this time, I did not imagine that one day I would be working for this Club.”
Camille also recalled her first international game at the Stade de France (France vs Italy) after the World Cup final in 2006, marking her an ‘official supporter’ of Les Bleus. She also recalled her amazement at football’s ability to unite all parts of society, and change perceptions of people.
“I was truly amazed to see people come together and support their country and today I am still amazed by how sport events act as a point around which people tend to gather and show national unity,” she said.
HIGHLIGHTS OF HER JOB
For Camille, her job is not a normal 9-5, as expected for a Club which is fast growing and counts Indonesia as its biggest fanbase in Asia.
“First of all, I would say that the best part about my current position as International Coordinator is that I have the chance to work for the development of the Club in a region of the world that I have always been passionate about, and consequently evolve on a daily basis in a very international environment,” she explained. “I first moved to Singapore in 2012 and literally fell in love with the country, the men, and the region! For me, Asia is such a dynamic and exciting region of the world in many different domains and sports is definitely one of them.”
PSG has also traditionally broken the mould in recent years, announcing a collaboration with Jordan for their Champions League kit, in “très cool” campaign, and working on the grassroots level, with local artists and creators to promote the club.
“Another highlight of my job is that I work on many different projects at the same time which makes every day different and every day exciting. I can work on the organization of an event while managing our current Asian partners and doing some market studies report. It also helps me develop new skills and knowledge without being bored a single day,” Camille said.
However, despite the perceived challenges women have in football, from allegations of sexual harassment to intimidation, Camille chooses to remain positive.
“I do not actually remember facing any challenge to be where I am today because I (am) a woman. However before starting to work in the industry, I always thought that because I was a woman, it would be more difficult for me to be part of this industry but I guess it was just wrong ideas I had in my mind,” she explained.
“ I think that football is no longer a man’s domain as an increasing number of women are now striving to be part of this industry whether as an athlete and/or a professional. There will still probably be lesser women in the industry in a decade, but I actually feel blessed to be one of them allowing me to make an impact for football in my own way!”
“I actually grew up watching football and going to football games with my mother. In my family, football has always been a women’s thing and we were the ones explaining the rules to my father and my brother … I guess I was born a Futbolita!” – Camille petit
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