Spain’s Liga F Players End Strike After Minimum Wage Agreement
The Spanish women's top-flight is back – for now.
Image via Getty Images
Liga F players have ended their strike, with the players and the league reaching an agreement on a new minimum wage, beginning this season.
The players initiated a league-wide strike, postponing the start of the season until both parties were able to agree on a salary. The league and the five unions representing the players have met five times in the last 10 days to resolve the dispute.
Though the players initially requested a new minimum of €25,000, the agreed upon salary for the 2023-24 season is €21,000. For the following season, it will go up to €22,500, with an additional €1,000 increase in 2025.
Though this is a major increase from the previous season’s €16,000, the minimum salaries being offered are still thousands below the national average. There is a chance that the number could reach €28,000 by 2025, but that’s dependent on the growth of the league’s commercial income.
In the aftermath of the Women’s World Cup, there is hope that the surge of interest in women’s football – especially in Spain – persists and grows. However, factors that are entirely outside of the players’ control should not determine their pay.
Women’s football is woefully underfunded in most countries, but for the top-flight of women’s football in Spain to go on strike only to receive a below-average salary is ridiculous.
Since the many layers of misogyny running rampant in the Spanish federation have been brought to light after the World Cup, the treatment of this particular dispute is reflective of the current state of women’s football in Spain.
Some of the best players in recent history have come out of Spain, and have carved the women’s national team a place in football history. Despite this, Liga F fears economic failure if they increase the minimum wage to €30,000.
There’s a systemic problem at the root of Liga F’s lack of funding. This isn’t the league’s first strike, and it’s unlikely to be the last. There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure the growth and longevity of a blossoming league.
