Liga F players go on strike for first two games of season after failing to reach deal on salaries

Players in Spain's top women's league are advocating for an increased minimum wage

Players in Liga F, the top women's soccer league in Spain, will be on strike for the first two games of the season after they failed to reach an agreement over minimum wage with league officials. The season was scheduled to start on Friday.

Players and their unions, led by the Spanish Players' Association, have been in constant discussions with Liga F over salaries but announced Wednesday that a deal could not be reached in time for the start of the season. The two sides, though, have been in negotiations over the players' minimum wage since last year, when the league became professional.

The minimum wage was set at $17,000 last season, and both sides are currently in agreement that the figure should increase. The exact number is where they disagree, though. The players are requesting a minimum salary of $27,000 for this season, which would rise to $32,000 next season.

The league, meanwhile, said in a statement this week that they offered a minimum wage of $21,000 with the possibility of hitting $25,000 "based on commercial benefits generated by the competition," it said, per ESPN. Liga F also said it also offered to eliminate part-time contracts and to provide child care and other resources for parents in recent negotiations. Liga F also argued that the players' proposals would bring on "the economic collapse of the competition."

The dispute comes amidst a reckoning in Spanish women's soccer after the nation's Women's World Cup triumph was overshadowed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales' forced kiss on Jennifer Hermoso. Rubiales has since been suspended by FIFA for 90 days and is facing a criminal investigation but the incident has forced many to reexamine a history of sexism in the Spanish game.

As recently as 2014, the federation spent just 1% of its budget on women's soccer. The women's national team only qualified for their first World Cup in 2015 and got out in the group stage after inadequate preparation for the tournament. Head coach Ignacio Quereda was soon ousted after 27 years at the helm and a pattern of allegations of abuse, but the women's game was still marginalized after his departure.

Jorge Vilda was named as Quereda's successor but tension grew between him and the players, who also continued to battle the federation. In September 2022, 15 players -- including eventual World Cup Golden Boot winner Aitana Bonmati -- refused to play for the national team citing a lack of professionalism and a toxic culture. The federation backed Vilda in this dispute and forced the players to apologize if they wanted a spot on the World Cup roster; eight of them made themselves available and three were eventually selected.

The Rubiales incident has strengthened the resolve of Spain players and their allies, with 81 women players refusing to play for the national team until leadership at the federation has changed. Vilda was fired on Tuesday by new federation president Pedro Rocha, but it is unclear if that will be enough for the players to return to the fold.

This is not the first dispute over wages Liga F, which operates independently of the federation, has faced. The league had a delayed start last season when women referees went on strike demanding better wages.