What happened on August 20, 2023 in Sydney, Australia changed Spanish women's football forever. In the 29th minute of the FIFA Women's World Cup final, Spain captain Olga Carmona took her left-footed shot, which beat England goalkeeper Mary Earps and curled into the far post. This was the only goal of the match and a great moment for the Spanish women's team. But for La Liga president Beatriz Álvarez Mesa, this moment of joy seemed almost impossible just a year ago, when women's soccer was finally granted professional status in Spain. It should have been.
Beatrice grew up playing soccer. From the age of 12 she played for her local club in Asturias, Oviedo Moderno. Women's soccer in Spain at the time was not considered a semi-professional facility, and salaries were very low. Beatriz, who spoke to me via video call from her Liga F office in Madrid, said that her match trips became longer and as soon as the income disappeared, she could no longer balance them with her studies. She retired at the end of the 2006-07 season at just 22 years old.
Beatriz's story is not limited to female soccer players. Thousands of players in Spain and around the world are forced to choose between balancing future studies, careers outside of football, or playing the sport they love. According to her, she actually gave up on her playing career because it costs money. Beatrice completed her studies and she became a social worker. She worked with drug addicts, and then she became a teacher while working as a coach and academy director at a club.
Beatriz became the first woman to hold the position of General Director of Sports for the State of Asturias, after serving as club president of Oviedo Moderno from 2009 to 2019. Towards the end of her term as club president, women's football was finally gaining momentum in Spain after decades of being ignored and suppressed.
The Association of Women's Football Clubs (ACFF) was established in 2015. Beatrice describes this moment as a major turning point. Until ACFF was established, all women's clubs were scrapping to secure their own resources, budgets and infrastructure in an environment focused on men's football. ACFF helped them create a united front that speaks with the same voice and has a common purpose. In 2019, after years of league name changes and league format changes, players went on strike over pay and working conditions. After much negotiation, the ACFF was able to secure the sale of the league's broadcast rights and a new collective bargaining agreement that protects the rights of the players.
Much of this progress quickly disappeared when COVID-19 hit Spain later that year. The league was canceled and the broadcast contract was lost. Beatriz described this moment as being like being in the ICU for women's soccer. At that critical moment, the club, players and management persevered and did not give up on the dream of a professional league.
In May 2020, the ACFF submitted a request to the government to grant professional status to women's football, calling for the creation of an independent body to run the competition. That request was granted on June 15, 2021, and the league's statue was approved in March 2022, creating a new governing body, Liga F.
Beatriz says that when Liga F was granted professional status, there were only three staff members, including herself. There was no official calendar, no soccer balls or equipment, no money or budget, and there were only three months until the tournament was scheduled to begin. From this nightmare scenario, they scrambled to secure an official league office and set up a competitive structure.
Despite a chaotic start, Beatrice and her team built one of the strongest leagues in the world. Liga F is home to the current European champions (FC Barcelona Femeni), the current and previous Ballon d'Or winners (Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Pteras), and many of the players from Spain's World Cup winning team. Masu.
In addition, Liga F is financially stable, mainly thanks to support worth €15 million from the Ministry of Sport (CSD) and a commercial agreement with LALIGA, Spain's men's competition. The deal with LALIGA is worth €42 million over five seasons and gives the men's league the power to find sponsors for the women's league, including Panini and Puma. Liga F also sold its broadcasting rights to DAZN for 35 million euros over five seasons, ensuring financial stability for the foreseeable future.
These commercial agreements gave the League a foundation for development. Beatriz said Liga F has a three-year plan to continue developing the brand and aim to attract new interest and talent. She wants Liga F to evolve from just a competition to a symbol of change that empowers women and girls.
Although the league is stable, the chairman admits that “many steps need to be taken for clubs to become sustainable”. According to her, at the moment the league can be divided into her three groups of clubs: major clubs, mid-sized clubs and independent clubs. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are relative outliers in terms of budget and brand recognition, while at the other end of the spectrum, independent clubs not affiliated with men's clubs rely on public subsidies to survive. .
Still, after just over a year as a professional, the signs are bright for Liga F. DAZN broadcasts all 240 league games in Spain and abroad, and the quality of players is so high that they are scouted and acquired from other leagues. On February 13th, Zambian international Rachel Quandananzi transferred from Madrid CFF to emerging NWSL club Bay FC, making it the highest-paid transfer in history for women. Although Beatriz is adamant that Liga F will not become an export league, he recognizes the value of this transfer and overall revenue for the league. Independent clubs like Madrid CFF will benefit greatly from the influx of capital and will now have the opportunity to reinvest and compete more effectively.
Beatriz Alvarez Mesa, President of Liga F
Provided by Liga F
At the time of writing, Beatriz says it is difficult to think about the future of Liga F in 10 years. Until recently, she admitted, “a women's professional league was unthinkable.” As league president, she recognizes that there is a lot of room for improvement and strives to make Liga F a sustainable competition with its own brand and purpose. She wants the league to be an embodiment of courage and overcoming obstacles. But above all, she wants women's soccer to escape comparisons with men's soccer, which she calls “a completely different industry.”
The path to the professional ranks has not been easy for Spanish women, with even their World Cup victory overshadowed by a sexual assault scandal involving the former president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). Despite a limited budget and no formal support from RFEF, Beatrice is proud that her team was able to build something so important in just her one and a half years. Masu.
As the NWSL officially launches in the United States and the WSL, Liga F, and UEFA Women's Champions League come to a close, we remember how these leagues and players overcame extreme adversity to get to where they are today. It's worth keeping. . Liga F players are not just playing for themselves, but for future generations who know there is a path to a professional career in women's football.
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