ABInBev’s Pony Malta Introduces Colombia's First Women's E-Sports Team to Compete Professionally

While women make up 49.7% of gamers in Latin America, just 3% of gamers at a professional level are female. Pony Malta wants to change this reality, so have launched ‘She Gaming’, an e-Sports team made up of female gamers to help women compete at a national level.

The initiative, created in partnership with MullenLowe SSP3, aims to demonstrate the raft of female talent in the big leagues of the gaming world. The initial line-up has seen Pony Malta bring together some of the best female gamers in the country, including María Camila Villafañe, Karen Meliza Varón, Helen Rodriguez, Natalia Galvis, and Sundara Moreno.

In addition to representing female gamers across the world, the team will help to create the biggest female gaming community in Colombia. Pony Malta is encouraging people to follow the team across the Twitch, YouTube and Facebook channels, connect with their live broadcasts to show their talent and participate in the special tournament.

Juan Alonso Torres, marketing director for ABInBev’s Pony Malta says: “We are well aware of the growth of women’s participation in e-Sports, and want to give them the visibility and platform they deserve. Through ‘She Gaming’, we hope to give women a safe environment to hone their skills and empower them to compete professionally in the e-Sports arena.”  

María Camila Villafañe, professional e-Sports player and leader of the ‘She Gaming’ team says: “The creation of the ‘She Gaming’ team is very important. Not only do we want to demonstrate our ability and success to the wider gaming community in Colombia, but we want to invite all girls to join us and show the world their talent. Follow the hashtag #SiSoyMujerSiSoyGamer to find out more about our activities and become part of Pony Malta’s movement to inspire female gamers to compete at the national level.”

Through ‘She Gaming’, Pony Malta reinforces its commitment to empower girls and teenagers in Colombia, helping them to be the best version of themselves. Pony Malta hopes to expand the initiative to include tournaments to recognize the best players in the e-Sports space, with the aim for winners to join a team for more competitive videogames such as FIFA and Valorant, among others.

The campaign follows ‘SHE F.C’, an initiative launched by Pony Malta and MullenLowe SSP3 in December 2020 to help women feel represented in FIFA 21. After finding that players could only create male avatars in FIFA Pro Clubs and Career Modes – modes through which players can make a career out of the game – Pony Malta and MullenLowe SSP3 ‘hacked’ the game to create the first all-female club by customizing the features on male avatars. ‘SHE F.C.’ was launched during a live event with prominent gamers in Latin America, alongside two players from the Women’s National Football Team, to encourage more women to join the movement and break the stereotypes within the game.