In a landmark move, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced equal economic conditions for the players in Spain’s men’s and women’s senior national teams. The declaration came during a public event attended by the federation’s president, Luis Rubiales, and the head of Futpro, Amanda Gutierrez, alongside the women’s players gathered in Las Rozas to prepare for the European Championship in England. The agreement, set to run through 2027, marks a major step toward parity in terms of pay and professional rights between the two squads.
The pact foresees identical terms of compensation as the teams intensify their preparations for the competition. It includes the same percentage of bonuses paid by UEFA and FIFA, enhanced by a positive corrective factor, and ensures that sponsorship revenue received by the RFEF is shared with the players. A new arrangement also covers the payment of image rights and sponsorship rights. The deal has been described as a pinnacle achievement for European football by Rubiales, signaling a turning point for the sport’s women’s game (RFEF press release).
Jennifer Hermoso’s absence from the European Championship due to a knee injury
EP
This historic development in women’s football was celebrated as a breakthrough moment. Gutierrez led the talks with lawyer Marta Bellver, on behalf of the players, with the involvement of union representatives from AFE and Futbolistas ON. The negotiations confirmed a long and sometimes challenging process but culminated in a historic level of agreement for both the club and the national program.
Captain Irene Paredes of Spain emphasized that the process was lengthy and complex, yet the resulting accord reinforces the federation’s commitment to the women’s team and its players. The broader implication is a strengthened position for women’s football on the world stage, with the changes reflecting a growing global emphasis on equity in sport.
Rubiales stated that going forward the women’s futsal team would receive an advance on their bonuses, aligning their treatment with the men’s team. The agreement covers the next five years, and the goal is to move beyond traditional grant-based payments toward more predictable, performance-aligned rewards. This five-year framework is intended to bring long-term stability to both squads and to encourage continued investment in women’s football across Spain.
– RFEF (@rfef) 14 June 2022
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The new framework ends the old practice of regular allowances in favor of advances on bonuses, mirroring the approach used with players trained by national team staff under recent coaches. A considerable portion of the funds provided by UEFA and FIFA for this purpose will be allocated to women players as well, justified by what the agreement describes as a positive discrimination factor due to lower average income among the women’s national team compared with their male counterparts.
Rubiales recalled that image rights payments were not made when he first joined the federation in 2018, but they have been improved retroactively since 2019. Under the new agreement, these improvements extend through 2027, with projections showing severalfold increases in image-rights income compared to 2019 levels. The federation’s leadership underscored that every euro received for the women’s team translates into higher earnings for the players, a sentiment echoed by Gutierrez and Paredes who praised the effort that led to the deal.
The immediate challenge for Spanish football now shifts toward renewing the collective bargaining agreement for the top tier. Once a women’s professional league is established, negotiations involving unions and employers are expected to focus on raising the minimum wage and removing any remaining biases that impede fair compensation for female players. The outcome is envisioned as a stronger, more sustainable platform for women’s football to mature and gain global competitiveness.