Creating a safe and welcoming community for female River Plate fans, Las Pibas Del Millo has started a trend of women-led supporters’ groups in Argentina. What began as a small group has now grown to over 500 strong, with an Instagram following of nearly 60,000 that is changing the status quo in Argentine soccer.
Soccer in Argentina is a religion full of passion which can occasionally boil over into situations that get… rough. In the 1990s, it wasn’t very common for women and children to regularly attend games due to the strong fear of violence. Argentina still has a strong Barra Brava culture, but in the late ’90s and early 2000s, it was brutal. Fans would often clash before and/or after games, and there were many altercations with the police. Entering the stadium often felt more like entering a prison than attending a soccer match.
Worse yet, there were many homicides that were attributed to soccer violence, near and around stadiums, as well as in public transportation.
To combat the violence, Buenos Aires implemented a rule in 2013 prohibiting visiting fans from attending away games. One of the clubs that took full advantage of this restriction was River Plate.
Over the last decade, River Plate has been at the forefront of making stadium renovations and enhancing the game-day experience for the diehard, casual, and tourist fans alike. The club boasts attendance figures that are among the highest in the world, and it has become common to see women, children, and entire families attending matches together at the stadium. It has become a hallmark of what River Plate wants to mean as an institution across the world.
Among those attending regularly are Las Pibas Del Millo, a female-led hincha, or supporters’ group. Initially, many of these women would go to the stadium on their own, but they came together to form a group in 2023 after a TikTok video filmed before a River Plate vs. Boca Juniors derby match.
In the video, a supporter asked who else was going to the stadium alone, prompting many fans to respond. The conversation quickly moved from TikTok to WhatsApp, and Las Pibas were born.
“Thanks to that viral message, we were able to bring people together and give the group an identity,” said Las Pibas Del Millo member Jennifer Tenorio. “We created the name Las Pibas Del Millo, and we began to meet in specific places, and eventually even made a banner.”
Las Pibas Del Millo is a community of people who, together, feel safe attending the stadium. Even though they sometimes sit in different areas, they still feel united.
“We are a bit of everything,” member Camila Moreyra said. “The idea is that all of us can support each other when entering the stadium. Many of us perhaps didn’t go regularly because we didn’t have anyone to go with. (Las Pibas) get together before the game, accompany each other into the stadium, and go home together, giving everyone a safe experience.”
One of the great things that has happened thanks to the initiatives of Las Pibas Del Millo is the creation of various WhatsApp groups that emerged from the pregame meet-ups. There are groups from all corners of Buenos Aires, from Zona Sur, Zona Norte, and the central areas of the city, all of whom talk and go together to watch their favorite team.
Today, Las Pibas Del Millo are 500 strong. Each group communicates and meets at the main location, then goes to and from the stadium together, providing a unique traveling experience to the game.
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“One of the great things about our group is how it unifies Argentina,” Moreyra said. “While many of us are from Buenos Aires, we get a lot of guests from all parts of Argentina, and some tourists have joined us too. They come specifically to be with us. For many people traveling from far away in Argentina, it could mean a long journey, and as a woman, you feel more comfortable uniting with other female River fans.”
The friendships formed from attending River Plate matches now go beyond the game. Las Pibas Del Millo now gather at bars or for lunch, and attend away games together to watch their team play. There are fans who are from all over Argentina, but also supporters from Venezuela and Colombia and expats who are now living in Argentina that have become River Plate fans.
In recent months, due to the exposure of Las Pibas Del Millo, other clubs in Argentina have formed all-female groups with the same message: to attend the stadium feeling safe and enjoy the game-day experience.
But like most things in Argentine soccer, the trend started with River Plate. Las Pibas Del Millo were the first.
