Spain women’s football team to have same economic conditions as men’s

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA)- For the first time, players on Spain’s national women’s football team are entitled to have the same economic conditions as players on Spain’s men's team.

The new deal, effective immediately, was announced by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) on Tuesday.

Under the new agreement, women will receive the same bonuses as men. Likewise, they will see their working conditions improved, receive cuts from future sponsorships and get more income from image rights, according to a statement from RFEF.

“The deal that we signed today is at the vanguard of the world of football. The deal is locked in for five years and we hope it will see them through the next World Cups, European Championships and the Olympic Games,” said RFEF’s President Luis Rubiales.

“We have to promote women’s sports and are working hard to close the gap with the men,” Rubiales said.

Irene Paredes, captain of Spain’s national women’s team, hailed the agreement, calling it “a historic day for women’s football.”

Spain’s women’s team is one of the favorites to win this summer’s European Championships, which begins in England next month.

“We are going to England to give it our all. We appreciate the support of the union FUTPRO in this negotiation. We’ll continue to fight with all our might for this jersey,” Paredes said.

The FUTPRO union representative, Amanda Gutierrez, who helped negotiate the new conditions was satisfied with the deal but said the fight to boost pay for female athletes is just beginning.

“We want female players to be able to compete on equal terms with their male peers so we can ensure female athletes have bright futures,” Gutierrez said.

“There’s still a lot of work left to be done and we need female players to unite to get even better conditions.”

In May, in a global first, the US Soccer Federation announced that men and women players representing the national team would receive the same pay when competing in international tournaments.