A Personal Look Into Women’s Soccer in Spain
I spent the last school year studying abroad in Granada, Spain, which was the most amazing and enriching cultural experience. I immersed myself in the lifestyle there and had the opportunity to live like a Spaniard, all while improving my language skills. I made friends with other Spanish students, and from our conversations, I learned about the opinions of the Spanish youth, notably how they view their sports teams, especially their national soccer teams.
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On Sunday, Spain’s men’s team won the 2024 European Champions in a brilliant match against England. They were undoubtedly the best team in the tournament and deserved the win. Similarly, Spain’s women’s team won the 2023 Women’s World Cup, also against England. Perhaps this could be considered a more impressive achievement, given that this is a competition against the best teams in the world, not just the European continent.
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Even though it’s only been a few days since the Euros win, it is clear that the men’s accomplishment is already more significant to Spain. Both teams had enormous fan support and street celebrations throughout the nation, but the men’s team had more, which is expected due to the indisputable fact that men’s soccer is more followed than women’s.
The difference in the impact of the achievements of the two teams on Spanish society is tremendous. I witnessed that the women's victory did not significantly impact the Spaniards. I remember conversing with a Spanish girl about soccer in one of my classes. When I mentioned the Spanish women's team winning the World Cup last summer and expressed my desire to have been in Spain and experience the atmosphere after the win, she had no idea they had won. This lack of awareness is representative of the majority of people in Spain.
It was even more surprising given that the World Cup win had made worldwide headlines, not because of the sporting achievement but because of the “kiss seen ‘round the world”. During the medal ceremony, Luis Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation at the time, forcibly kissed Jenni Hermoso, one of the players, on live television. In her testimony before the High Court in Madrid, she confirmed that the kiss was not consensual. The incident overshadowed the team's remarkable achievement and brought attention to a woman being violated by a man. Despite this, it appears that not enough media attention was given to the incident.
Although I am no longer in Spain, I can assume that based on the videos I’ve seen posted on social media and the celebratory text messages sent to group chats, it would be difficult to find someone in Spain currently who doesn’t know that their men’s team won the Euros.
I would walk around campus and see soccer jerseys everywhere. ‘Bellingham 5’ graced the backs of almost every student, especially on days when Real Madrid was playing in the Champions League. Every team across the globe seemed to be represented over the year- Granada FC, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, LA Galaxy, Paris Saint-Germain. But every single one was a men’s team or a male player. Not once did I see the name of a women’s player on the back of anyone’s shirts. However, I couldn’t even begin to count the number of times I walked behind someone wearing Vini Jr or Rodri. There was a severe lack of representation of female soccer stars, Spanish or international, among this demographic, and it was upsetting to see.
According to Two Circles, the average attendance for a Liga F (the Spanish women’s league) game in the 23/24 season is 1,105, an 8% increase from last season, even after their national team’s victory. Girona FC has the lowest attendance out of all the male La Liga teams, but their average attendance is still 11,471. There are a myriad of valid reasons that account for this stark difference. Still, the truth remains that women’s soccer is much less appreciated and supported than men’s, even in the home country of the world champions.
Women’s sports are equally as important as men’s sports. There may be disparities at the moment due to funding, coverage, and wages, but the first step in achieving equality is crediting success where it’s due. Female players can be role models for young boys who want to play soccer in the same way that male players can be. After all, it’s the same game—90 minutes, 11 players on the pitch.
I loved seeing Spaniards proudly supporting their favorite teams by wearing jerseys, peering over a classmate’s shoulder to watch the highlights of the previous night’s match during a lecture, and hearing the passionate cheers and shouts in a tapas bar when a goal was scored. I hope that next time I go to Spain, there will also be an Alexia Putellas one for every Nico Williams jersey I see.