Spanish Women's Liga F Players Strike Amid Pay Dispute

Players from Spain's premier women's football league, Liga F, have chosen to proceed with a strike as negotiations aimed at improving their pay conditions reached an insurmountable impasse, announced unions representing the players on Thursday. Five prominent unions, including AFE and Futpro, initiated the strike, which will impact the first two rounds of fixtures scheduled for last week. In a joint statement, the unions articulated their position, stating, "We consider the final financial proposal from Liga F unacceptable, and the five unions still uphold a steadfast proposition concerning the minimum wage necessary to ensure that female footballers in our country receive salaries commensurate with their talent." Despite the unions lowering their requested minimum wage to a starting point of €23,000 ($24,600) annually, Liga F declined to increase their offer beyond €20,000 ($21,400) per year, with the current minimum wage standing at €16,000 ($17,000) for Liga F players. The unions further lamented, "After holding a meeting yesterday with the Liga F players, they consider the employers' proposal unacceptable and are saddened that they have to maintain a strike even having lowered their initial proposal to €23,000 euros per year," highlighting that this wage would be less than that of match referees. Negotiations regarding pay and conditions commenced a year ago, coinciding with the professionalization of Liga F. However, the recent meetings exclusively concerned the minimum wages of the players. The first round of fixtures was initially scheduled for September 8-10, followed by the second round on September 15-17. Last season, a referees' strike disrupted the opening week of Liga F matches, ultimately leading to the league agreeing to higher match fees for referees, and the Spanish government committing to contribute to a referees' retirement fund. The spotlight has been on Spanish women's football since La Roja's World Cup victory in August. However, the celebration was marred by an incident involving federation chief Luis Rubiales at the post-game medal ceremony. Rubiales faced worldwide backlash for forcibly kissing Spain midfielder Jenni Hermoso on the lips. In a defiant speech, Rubiales refused to resign despite growing pressure and criticized "false feminism." FIFA provisionally suspended Rubiales for 90 days to investigate disciplinary action, and Hermoso filed a legal complaint against him at Spain's top criminal court on Wednesday. Currently, 81 Spain players are on strike against the women's national team, demanding a change in the federation's leadership, following the dismissal of controversial coach Jorge Vilda on Tuesday.