September 6 – Players in Liga F, the top tier of women’s football in Spain, are set to go on strike over pay which will see them miss the first two scheduled games of the league season. The opening game of season between Sevilla and Grenadilla Tenerife is scheduled for tonight.
The strike was announced by players union Futpro, who underlined the disagreement with Liga F regarding the minimum salary for players in the division whilst addressing their discontent over the wage gap between male and female footballers in the country.
The league’s players include most of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad.
Futpro are reportedly asking for minimum salary of €23,000, whilst Liga F are “practically immovable” in their proposal of a €20,000 minimum salary. The Liga F board have been described as ‘impossible to negotiate with’ by the player’s union.
“We consider the final economic proposal of Liga F to be unacceptable and the five unions keep maintaining that a firm proposal in regards to minimum salary has to be applied so that the footballers of our country have wages at the level of their talent,” said a FUTPRO statement.
“The position of the league during the negotiations surprises and saddens us, which at all times has been immovable in regards to meeting the proposal made by the unions.”
The quintet of unions originally called for a strike during the first two matchdays last Friday, but following the failure of the last round of negotiations – including a last-minute meeting to try to avoid the labour stoppage – the unions are proceeding with strike action.
“It’s important to remember that the current minimum salary since 2019 is €16,000 ($17,100), an amount which by only applying the base rate rise of CPI (consumer price index) would rise to €18,554 ($19,900),” FUTPRO said.
“It’s a key moment to defend the working rights of our footballers and to have the commitment that the institutions which comprise the women’s football industry bet on the development and well-being of its protagonists.”
The treatment of women’s football in Spain is a hotbed of controversy and criticism in the wake of Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales’ public antics following Las Rojas victory over England in the World Cup final last month, where he kissed Spain captain Jenni Hermoso. Despite pressure on Rubiales to stand down, he remains president.
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