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Spain’s primary players' organisation announced on Friday that during the first two rounds of the forthcoming season, Spanish women's league players will go on strike for improved compensation and working conditions. The announcement comes amid a controversy in Spanish football brought on by the head of that nation's football federation kissing a women's player forcibly during the Women's World Cup final.
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Games schedul ed for September 8–10 and September 15–17 will be impacted by the strike. After Spain forward Jenni Hermoso was forcibly kissed by Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales during the Women's World Cup awards ceremony on 20 August, AFE claimed it had the support of other unions, notably FUTPRO, which is representing Hermoso.
In a statement, the AFE union stated that the strike is in support of "fair and just treatment for the players," including a decrease in the wage difference with La Liga's male players. In the first division, men are paid a minimum wage of 182,000 euros ($197,000), but women only receive 16,000 euros ($17,400). The rebuilt women's league, Liga F, with which the strike was called after the failure of talks for a new collective bargaining agreement.
The first collective bargaining agreement for women's football players in Spain was struck in 2020. The players' unions and Liga F, the organisation that speaks for the clubs, will meet on Monday to discuss the strike and increase the wages of women players.
Women's football in Spain has exploded in popularity in recent years. Barcelona has won two of the last three Women's Champions League championships in addition to the World Cup last month.
