Alexia Putellas' incredible speech in full as Barça win Medal of Honour

Alexia Putellas, the captain of FC Barcelona, received the Medal of Honour awarded by the Catalan Parliament to the FC Barcelona women's team on Wednesday.

Alexia, in her turn to speak, made a speech that was both vindicating and, at the same time, emotional. Past, present and future appeared in her words and she assured that, despite what has been achieved so far, the movement will not stop and advocated that "the changes that we all ask for are so that no woman, inside or outside of football, will ever have to live a situation of contempt, disrespect or abuse."

Here is Alexia Putellas's full speech:

"This distinction is a paradigm shift. Society is changing and is demanding it. The role of women must be fundamental in the development and growth of Catalan society. 

"We are the first men's or women's team to be distinguished with this Medal of Honour. This would have been unthinkable five, 15, 20 years ago, but it has happened. It is happening and if it has happened it is because society is changing and has brought us this far. 

"And as we have not achieved anything from scratch, I would like to thank all those pioneers who, before our arrival, promoted women's sport at Barça or in other organisations. This Medal also belongs to them, we are very aware of that.

"As Barça, I believe that we are helping to build a fairer, more equal society with more opportunities through football. Our efforts and our victories are making us a point of reference for many children, young people and adults. And that entails a great responsibility: we have to do it well.

"Our commitment to women's sport and society is unquestionable. But we need more help to keep growing, so that this is not just a fad. And here, if I may, I would like to demand more support for women's football, more and better facilities, more pitches and more investment at grassroots level. 

"Institutions must ensure that everyone, boys and girls alike, have the same opportunities to play football. We want all the girls who come after us to have the tools they need to enjoy themselves, to play, to win.... We are taking steps forward each time and we are very happy and grateful for the commitment of the club, which invests a lot in us and believes in us.

"We are passionate about our profession, many of us never imagined we would get here or play in a full Camp Nou, or that we would break attendance records on two occasions, or that we would win what we have won and how we have won.

"We are here to stay, to help those to come, because there is still a long way to go as we are seeing these days with the serious situation we are facing with the [Spanish] Federation and the changes we are all asking for so that no woman, inside or outside football, ever has to live a situation of disrespect, disrespect or abuse. 

"We need consensus, courage and leadership from the institutions. We will not stop here, those who fought before us deserve it, we deserve it for the effort we make every day and all the girls and boys who today dream of being like us deserve it. We will not fail you. Long live women's sport and long live Barça."