Liga F: Unions representing players in Spanish women's top flight could strike over pay and conditions
- Published
Barcelona won the 2022-23 Liga F and the Women's Champions League
Unions representing players in the top flight of women's football in Spain have called for a strike on the first two weekends of the new season after failing to agree a deal regarding better conditions and pay.
The Spanish footballers' association (AFE) said negotiations, seeking to "achieve fair treatment" for players, "reduce the existing wage gap" and other issues, had "stagnated".
The new Liga F season is due to start on 8 September, but unions will meet, external with the league again on Monday.
The call for a strike comes amid unrest in Spanish football after Luis Rubiales, the president of the country's football federation, kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain's Women's World Cup final win.
Rubiales has been suspended by world governing body Fifa but has refused to resign from his position.
AFE - one of the five unions involved - said negotiations over improving a collective agreement have been taking place for more than a year.
In 2020, players signed an agreement on pay and conditions that guaranteed them a minimum salary of 16,000 euros (£13,706) after a strike the previous November.
That agreement also secured benefits for players that include paid holiday and maternity leave.
The minimum salary in the top flight of men's football, La Liga, is 182,000 euros (£155,923).
Last season's Liga F, won by Barcelona, started a week late after referees called a strike.