Deyna Castellanos usually faces the goal with a focused gaze, but when she scores a goal, an expansive smile spreads across her face — one known to so many who refer to her as the “queen” of soccer in her native Venezuela.
Castellanos, 25, made news early this year when she signed with Bay FC, the San Francisco-based women’s professional soccer team, on a four-year contract worth $1.8 million dollars, making her the highest-paid foreign player in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Before that, Castellanos played with Atlético de Madrid, Manchester City and the Venezuelan national team, and she holds several records, including as the top scorer in South America’s under-17 championships as well as in the U-17 Women’s World Cup.
“My biggest dream is to qualify with the Venezuelan women’s team for the World Cup,” the athlete said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo. “We are growing, we are maturing, and we are evolving in many ways. The goals may change, but the dreams remain the same.”
Castellanos connects her rise in the competitive soccer world to a key event in her life: After distinguishing herself as a young player in international championships despite the limitations of the Venezuelan sports system, Castellanos was awarded a scholarship when she was 16 to study at Florida State University, where she broke records by scoring 47 goals in 77 games.
“Being a student-athlete in the United States changed my life,” she said, adding that coming to the U.S. on that scholarship “has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
Castellanos says her college experience in Florida, where she studied journalism, allowed her to learn the principles and discipline of the sport.
But coming out of Venezuela, her experience was not common. “When I was little, they didn’t help you apply for an academic and sports scholarship in the United States. I don’t think there was any organization, especially with female soccer players. That was practically impossible,” she said.
Inspired by her academic and sports career in the United States, Castellanos and her team created the Queen Deyna Program: The Legacy, a foundation that seeks to empower girls and young women through sports and education.
“Obviously, it is more focused on helping girls from Venezuela, but we have European, African, Latin players. … The truth is that it is a great pride for me,” she said as she delved into the goals of this project.
Although the program started as an idea in 2020, it wasn’t until early 2022 that it began the process of recruiting athletes, with the help of Nike and other sponsors.
“We have already sent 50 girls to the United States. And not just from Venezuela, but from all over the world, which is crazy,” she said, laughing.
Castellano’s goal is to expand the foundation’s reach to help even more young people. “We have to keep looking for funds that can change our goal of sending 15 to 20 players to the United States each year, and maybe even 20 to 40. We want to change things,” she said.
From ‘something impossible’ to a college career
Nearly 25,000 international students and athletes compete in various sports in the United States, according to NCAA figures. Some 900 universities offer scholarships of more than $10,000 per year.
Marianyela Jiménez, a Venezuelan soccer player who is part of the Queen Deyna Program, is one of those athletes. “When I was little, I always wanted to go to the United States and play at a university, but obviously I didn’t know how to do it. I saw it as something impossible until Deyna helped me a lot,” the 20-year-old soccer player said. She now plays and studies at Florida State University, following in Castellanos’ footsteps.
Jiménez joined the Florida State team this year, but she previously studied at William Carey University, where she competed in 66 matches and scored 46 goals. This year, she played with the Venezuelan national team in the U-20 Women’s World Cup and made her debut in the senior category.
The sports environment and the academic demands have given Jiménez a new perspective on her challenges as an athlete.
“The most important thing is discipline. … You have to train and continue with your studies, because here, in order to play, you have to study,” Jiménez said.
“I think people are now paying a little more attention to women’s football. I feel like it’s already part of everything,” she said excitedly.
Equal pay, safe spaces and Venezuela
Though Castellanos’ signing salary made news, the pay in men’s soccer is much higher. When asked if she thinks there will soon be equal pay in the sport, she said women’s soccer has evolved a lot and will continue to grow, and salaries will be better every year. “I don’t know if we will ever see that equality in salaries. Let’s hope so. But we also know that the numbers that are being used for certain footballers are absurd,” she said. “In the end, this is a sport that we also dedicate ourselves to. It’s our life, and we live off of it.”
Castellanos was asked whether, as a member of the LGBTQ community, she felt women’s soccer was a safe space. Her answer was a yes. “We have always felt at home, we have not felt judged, whether you are heterosexual, bisexual, gay — I think women’s football does that very well.”
Castellanos reflected on what it was like to train in Venezuela amid the country’s political, economic and social crises.
“It’s difficult, because Venezuela doesn’t have a formal, competitive professional league where I can say, for example, that I want to retire in Venezuela and that’s it,” she said. That’s reflected in the uncertain state of the national team, she said, unlike in other South American countries, where professional soccer has a solid base.
“That’s why I think this Queen Deyna Program project also focuses so much on helping Venezuelan players see something different, to open their minds, learn another language and have the opportunity to be seen and to opt for something professional that Venezuela doesn’t offer us,” she said. “I think that’s one of the most special things about this foundation.”
Castellanos said the current situation in Venezuela affects everyone; she said her whole family is still there.
“Next year is the Copa America, and everything is uncertain. The coach is uncertain. We don’t know how many training camps we will have before this competition, which is so important for us because it qualifies us for the 2027 World Cup and the Olympic Games,” Castellanos said. “The situation in the country is always difficult for all of us as Venezuelans, no matter what position you are in, because we all love our country.”
An earlier version of this story was first published in Noticias Telemundo.
