Spain players end boycott after federation commits to change
The vast majority of Spain’s women’s squad agreed to end their boycott of the national team early on Wednesday after the country’s football federation (RFEF) said it would make “immediate and profound changes” to its structure.
The decision was reached around 5 a.m. local time (11 p.m. ET) after more than seven hours of meetings at a hotel in Oliva, an hour from Valencia, involving the players, RFEF officials, the National Sports Council (CSD) and the women’s players’ union FUTPRO.
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Two players, Mapi León and Patri Guijarro, decided to leave the training camp, saying they are not ready to represent Spain at this time, but the other 21 players have stayed and will play in the UEFA Nations League clash against Sweden on Friday.
When asked why she left the camp, Guijarro told reporters: “They are working on changes. It’s a different situation for us. It’s tough, it’s difficult. Being here, after the way everything has happened, mentally we were not ready to stay. That’s the explanation.”
León and Guijarro had boycotted the Women’s World Cup after first refusing to play for the national team in March due to the treatment of players.
Spain’s players, who clinched the country’s first Women’s World Cup title last month, had said they would not play for the national team until there were further changes at the federation, deepening a crisis that started after former RFEF boss Luis Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the World Cup presentation ceremony.
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The Spain squad for the Sweden match only includes 15 players for the World Cup-winning squad, most notably omitting Hermoso who accused the RFEF of trying to divide and manipulate the players.
“A joint commission will be created between RFEF, CSD and players to follow up on the agreements, which will be signed tomorrow,” CSD President Victor Francos told reporters.