Spain Women players agree to end boycott after Spanish FA announce they will make ‘immediate and profound’ changes

The Spanish players have called off their protest after a long discussion near Valencia. They had concerns about the national game after a kiss incident between Luis Rubiales and Jenni Hermoso during the Women’s World Cup final. The team will resume training on Wednesday to prepare for the upcoming Nations League matches.

The Spanish women’s World Cup winners have decided to stop their boycott after the Spanish Football Association promised to make quick and significant changes to its organization.

The decision was made at 5 am after a seven-hour meeting involving players, officials, the National Sports Council, and the women’s players’ union.

The players refused to play for Spain until more changes were made at the federation. This crisis began when the former president of the Spanish FA, Luis Rubiales, kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips at the World Cup presentation ceremony.

“A joint commission will be created between RFEF, CSD and players to follow up on the agreements, which will be signed [on Thursday],” CSD president Victor Francos said.

“The players have expressed their concern about the need for profound changes in the RFEF, which has committed to making these changes immediately.”

Francos and Rafael del Amo, president of the RFEF committee for women’s football, haven’t given details about the upcoming changes. They mentioned that the announcement will be made “soon”.

“The players see it as a rapprochement of positions. It is the beginning of a long road ahead of us,” FUTPRO president Amanda Gutierrez said.

“Once again, they have shown themselves to be coherent and the vast majority have decided to stay for the sake of this agreement.”

The winners of the Women’s World Cup said they will make a decision about their future and health after considering the legal consequences of being included in a squad they wanted to be excluded from.

They said the federation can’t make them come because they thought the invitation didn’t follow FIFA’s rules about when and how it should be done.

The players could have been punished with fines of up to 30,000 euros (£25,950) and the suspension of their federation licence for two to 15 years under Spain’s Sports Act if they had refused to join the team.

Twenty players boycotted the team but later joined training. Two players left due to personal reasons.

Neither player would be punished, and it was decided to keep their identities a secret.

“The first thing they have been told here has been: whoever is not at ease, does not feel strong enough, should know that neither the federation nor the CSD was going to apply a sanctioning process,” Francos said.

The players revolted because Rubiales kissed Hermoso on the lips after Spain won the World Cup.

Rubiales resigned after a national debate about macho culture in sport, sparked by Hermoso’s insistence that the kiss was consensual.

She was not included in the team roster that was announced on Monday. She accused the RFEF of attempting to create division among the players and manipulate them.

Spain will play their first match in the Women’s Nations League against Sweden in Gothenburg on Friday. They will then face Switzerland in Cordoba on September 26th.

The Nations League decides which European teams go to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Spanish Football Federation has announced that the players will have a late breakfast after resting and will have their first training session on Wednesday afternoon before traveling to Gothenburg on Thursday morning.