The majority of Spain’s top female footballers have ended their boycott of the national team after the government intervened to secure a promise of “immediate and profound changes” to the football federation (RFEF).
Hours later, the federation announced that it had sacked its secretary general, Andreu Camps, while a federation official told Reuters that between six and nine senior officials – some of them suggested by the players themselves – were set to be fired. Earlier in the day the federation rolled out its first measure: an announcement that both its men’s and women’s national teams would be known as the Spanish national football team. Previously the men’s team had been referred to as the Spanish national football team, while the women’s team were the Spanish women’s national football team.
The federation’s interim president, Pedro Rocha, described it as a step that sought to go beyond symbolism and recognise that “football is football, no matter who plays it”, the RFEF said in a statement.
He said: “Language builds us as a society, and we believe that making it clear that the two national teams are equal also allows us to move towards a more egalitarian conception of football.”
The decision by all but two players to end their boycott came after a seven-hour meeting between players, the federation and Spain’s high council for sport. It was the latest twist in the upheaval that has engulfed Spanish football since Luis Rubiales grabbed the player Jenni Hermoso by the head, pulled her towards him and kissed her on the lips after La Roja won the World Cup in Australia last month.
After Rubiales stepped down as the RFEF’s president this month, the players remained resolute that they would continue to boycott the national team until further changes were made to the federation leadership. On Monday their decision was seemingly ignored after the new coach, Monte Tomé, named 15 of the World Cup-winning players in her squad.
The majority of players initially responded with plans to continue their boycott. But the threat of fines of up to €30,000 (£26,000) and the possibility of being banned from appearing for their clubs seemingly left many with little choice; footage shot on Tuesday appeared to show a number of the players stony-faced as they boarded a bus for the training camp. When the goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez was asked by a reporter whether she was happy to have been called up by Tomé, she replied: “No.”
In the early hours of Wednesday the Spanish government said the two players who refused the call-up, Mapi León and Patri Guijarro, would not face sanctions.
“The first thing we told them was that whoever is not comfortable, for whatever reason, should know that neither the federation nor the high council for sports will apply a sanctioning process,” Spain’s secretary for sports and president of the high council for sports, Víctor Francos, told reporters.
“I have to be honest; the players are going through a complicated moment and I think it is good news to be able to say that the women’s national team will play both matches with guarantees and victories,” he said, in reference to upcoming Nations League games against Sweden and Switzerland. The matches will help determine which European teams qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The demands made by players during the meeting reportedly included that Rocha step down.
The federation released a second statement on Wednesday, saying it had not intended to “create more noise and add to the pressure on players” and “deeply regretted” that this was how the call-up was being viewed.
It said it was “aware of the need to begin a new stage” and pointed to its aim of creating a safe, professional environment for players. “However, we recognise that until [the meeting] yesterday we have not managed to build a climate of trust with our international footballers.”
Noting its support for players as they “go through these unwanted circumstances”, it reiterated its apology to all the players for what had happened in the wake of the World Cup win, in particular to Hermoso, who was “immersed in a situation that she did not create”. It said: “We will always support them.”
Spain’s acting minister for culture and sports, Miquel Iceta, said the federation planned to hold early elections in the first months of 2024. “We hope that that the renewal of the federation will be a turning point,” he said.
On Wednesday León and Guijarro, both of whom were exiled from Spain’s World Cup-winning squad after a 2022 protest against the federation, spoke to reporters about their decision to leave the squad.
“The situation for me and for Patri is different to the rest of our teammates,” said the Barcelona defender León. “We already knew this was not the right way to return, and we are not in the right state.”
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She said that they fully supported their teammates. “We are happy because the truth is that changes are being made.” The sentiment was echoed by Guijarro.
Tuesday’s marathon meeting also brought agreements to tackle players’ longstanding demands for equality on salaries and infrastructure. The president of players’ union Futpro, Amanda Gutiérrez, told reporters: “We want the org chart to be exactly the same as that of the men’s team.”
Although she and Francos declined to give more details on the contents of the agreements, Gutiérrez said their progress would be tracked by a joint commission, made up of players, the federation and the high council for sport.
“It is the beginning of a long road ahead of us,” said Gutiérrez. “Once again, they [the players] have shown themselves to be coherent and the vast majority have decided to stay for the sake of this agreement.”
