“My father signed me up for the club that had opened next to our house when I was five. The first day was a bit difficult because, ultimately, it was a boys' team, and I was a girl. I loved football, but I left crying on the first day. From that point on, everything became wonderful,” begins Marina Rivas (Jerez de la Frontera, July 2, 2005) in an interview with Liga F. Her career started at UD La Jerezana, and she later played for Pueblo Nuevo and Xerez. “When you are little, you just focus on playing football, which is what you love, and what gets you up every day,” continues the midfielder, who began to stand out in the Cádiz, Andalusian, and Spanish national teams, becoming champion of Andalusia and subsequently champion of Spain. In that tournament, despite being the youngest, her teammates decided she should be the team captain.

A championship in which the Cádiz native could not play the final. “In the semis against Catalonia, I tore something. It hurt not to have played the final, but I left feeling super satisfied,” she responds proudly. The Andalusian squad also featured Andrea Medina and Ornella Vignola. Marina Rivas’s passion for football comes from her father. “It’s his frustrated dream. I started playing because of him. He has come to watch me in every match he could, at every training session, and I owe it to him for all the effort he has made,” explains the midfielder, who caught the attention of Betis, who incorporated her into their ranks. And, precisely, it was her father who drove her every day to training with the *verdiblanco* side, making an hour-long journey there and another back. “My father would arrive from work, and he barely had time to eat, and it was tough, but it was worth it,” she affirms.

Her grandfather also travelled with her on those car journeys, and like the rest of her family, he didn't want to miss his granddaughter’s journey. “I am here right now because of my family’s effort. Everyone did their part so I wouldn't miss a single training session,” confesses Marina Rivas, who, in the summer of 2022, at just 17 years old, decided to pack her bags, leave her comfort zone, and sign for Madrid CFF to play for the Madrid team’s reserve side. “It is one of the biggest academies there is. What makes it special are the opportunities they provide. Many of us have come up from the bottom, and now I am playing in the first team,” she highlights. Just a few months later, after being runners-up in the U17 European Championship, she became U17 World Champion with the Spanish national team in India. The best moment of her football career.

“We knew we were going to the World Cup to win it. We faced Germany, who beat us in the Euros; we beat them, and we defeated Colombia in the final. It was a super special moment that I carry with me always,” affirms the midfielder, who the following summer became the U19 European Champion. “I am one of the youngest, but it is just as special. You have to experience it every time, regardless of the role you are given,” she expresses. A year later, and while gaining minutes in LigaF, the toughest moment of her life arrived. On April 14, 2024, she tore her cruciate ligament. “Those injuries happen when you are feeling your best. For me, the most complicated moments were at the beginning. I had to go home, and since my meniscus was also torn, I couldn't bear weight for a month and was constantly dependent on someone,” confesses the Cádiz native, who went from touching the sky to being unable to play football for a year.

Despite the injury, Marina was very clear that she wanted to become a better footballer. “The mental side is the most important part of recovery because it depends on how you approach it. I faced the injury as a learning experience, and that is what it has been,” she states. On April 25, 2025, she reappeared in the defeat against Real Madrid CF (7-3) at the Di Stéfano. “It was very emotional. We lost, but I left with very good feelings, and my knee didn't bother me at all. After a whole year, it is worth it,” recalls the footballer, who this season already totals 740 minutes in eighteen LigaF Moeve matches, and is gaining more and more prominence at Madrid CFF. “It is a year of learning both individually and collectively. Many situations have happened to us this year, but we are facing them in the best possible way. We want to be among the top five teams,” she affirms.

Despite her youth, she already has several seasons in LigaF Moeve, where she highlights the continuous growth of the competition. “There is much more visibility. More and more girls want to play football from a young age. You see the stadiums filling up more often, and that gives you an extra motivation for those who have made it possible. We continue trying to ensure they have the maximum possible opportunities and the best resources,” she explains. Precisely, Marina has become an example for the rest of the academy girls. “For the girls, all of us who play in LigaF are role models. They have the same dream we once had. I tell them not to stop working, that women's football is getting better and will improve much more, not to give up, and to fight for their dreams,” advises the midfielder, who has always balanced football with her studies.

“When I was at Betis, it was complicated, but I was clear that I couldn't stop. Football is a very short career. I was studying for the higher vocational degree in Teaching and Socio-sporting Animation (TSEAS) in person, but I realised I couldn't manage it, and I am doing it online, but I haven't given it up,” explains the footballer, who does not hesitate to look back to appreciate everything she has achieved and how far she has come. “I am thrilled to be featured in the PANINI stickers because when I was little, I used to ask my grandmother to buy me stickers to fill the album. It is the first year that all the team members are included, and I am thrilled when someone sends me a photo with my sticker,” she replies with the same smile as that five-year-old girl who started playing football for her father, and who now only dreams of “enjoying the present.”