Why Hollywood investors have joined Watford Women

Investors George Valencia (left) and Judy Reyes (right) at Vicarage Road in Watford

Watford Women were relegated to the third tier in July and are a part-time club - so why are Hollywood investors Sound of Gol getting involved?

Their answer is simple.

Actress Judy Reyes, who played Carla Espinosa in TV series Scrubs, and her partner George Valencia hope to break down socio-economic barriers and provide opportunities for Latina girls in the United States and London.

Watford, a club close to their hearts and one they have been aware of for some time, gave them an opportunity to implement change.

In return, Watford will receive investment for resources and expertise on a newly-formed board, while helping to integrate members of the Latina community into the women's game.

Anna Chanduvi, a commercial expert, Kieran Theivamanoharan and Alex Stone, formerly of the Football Association and Fifa respectively, will join Sound of Gol and Watford's head of women's football Helen Ward on the new board.

"It's about opening up the pages for Latina women - women of colour - to come over and get a foundation of what football culture is like," said Valencia.

"To bring that back to the US is really what the basis of us and our partnership with Watford is."

'We're going to show you our investment'

Watford's head of women's football Helen Ward unveilling the club's new mascot design

Earlier this year, two Latina women flew to England and spent a week with Watford, training and joining in coaching sessions.

Reyes, a Latina woman herself, said "inclusion was important" and young Latina girls are "just as passionate" about playing football as anyone else.

"We're embarrassingly underrepresented as coaches. That's the opportunity that we want to create," she added.

"It's why we're so grateful to Watford for their support. They are excited about participating in this. It creates opportunity for both and growth for both."

Unlike previous women's football investments, which has seen the likes of businesswoman Michele Kang providing funds to London City Lionesses and being able to attract big-name stars to the Women's Championship, Valencia said this was "not commercialised".

"To be more unique, we're going to show you how our investment works, as opposed to telling you what the numbers are," he added.

"For example, Watford Women have never had a mascot, but we've designed it with our team in Latin America.

"I worked for AS Roma for a couple of years and started their digital department. We're bringing that, as well as producers, to create content with the brand of Watford Women."

Chanduvi says they hope to "truly make a difference" while building revenue.

"We want to give opportunities, create content, create stories that are inspiring, that are shareable, that transcend the sport itself - and that inevitably will attract commercial investment," she added.

"From my experience working with brands, they want to attach themselves to causes that can actually make a difference.

"They don't just want to plaster their logos on billboards. What I find beautiful about this partnership is the authenticity. It's truly born through a passion of wanting to make a difference."

'It's going to help us achieve something bigger'

Former Wales striker Ward, who started her new role in August, said it has been a "summer of change at the club".

"This summer's been tough. We got relegated from the Championship and you lose a lot when that happens.

"There's no parachute payments for a start. You lose your broadcasting money. But we've made a big shift."

Ward says this new investment "can do so much" for the club - not just in terms of finances.

"It's impossible to put it into words. What I don't want is people looking at it and thinking, 'Watford are getting a load of money'. It's not about that," said Ward.

"As a club, we don't want it to be about that. Finances help any organisation, of course, but they have to be brought in in the right way and with the right intentions, and this partnership does that.

"It's going to help us tackle under-representation. That's what we want to come out of this.

"We're looking at inventive ways of bringing in our own revenue differently than just a big commercial sponsor going 'here's X amount of cash' and we buy a new striker.

"I'm not going to pretend that the finances don't help. It's going to help us but it's going to help us to do something bigger."