Statement from 39 Spanish national team players as boycott continues

The resignation of Luis Rubiales and the dismissal of Jorge Vilda are not enough for the Spanish women's national team's players. 39 of them have signed a statement in which they express their anger at the situation surrounding the Royal Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] and the measures taken so far. They consider the acts that have taken place, such as Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso, to be intolerable. 

They call for the "restructuring of the organisational structure of women's football, the president's office, the communication area and the integrity department," among things. Real Madrid's Athenea is the only World Cup winner not to have signed the statement. Claudia Zornoza did not sign, either, but has retired from international football.

The full statement:

"The players of the National Team, recent world champions, as well as their teammates, wish to express, as they did on 25 August 2023, their enormous dissatisfaction after the events that took place at the presentation of medals at the Women's World Cup and the subsequent extraordinary assembly of the Royal Spanish Football Federation. 

"The events that unfortunately everyone has been able to see are not a one-off event and go beyond sporting matters. We must have zero tolerance for these acts, for our colleague, for ourselves and for all women. 

"Several weeks after what happened, we want to make public the fact that we have held several meetings with the RFEF in which the staff have expressed clearly and forcefully the changes that we understand to be basic in order to move forward and reach a structure that does not tolerate or take part in such degrading acts.

"The players of the Spanish national team have always had an open attitude to dialogue, seeking to transmit clear and well-argued reasons that we understand are necessary to be able to carry out our work at the highest level with the respect we deserve.

"The specified changes to the RFEF are based on a zero-tolerance approach towards those individuals who, from positions within the RFEF, have engaged in, incited, concealed, or applauded attitudes that go against the dignity of women. We firmly believe that significant changes are required in the leadership positions of the RFEF, particularly in the area of women's football.

"We all understand that these individuals must be kept far from the system that should protect us, and unfortunately, it falls far short of an advanced society. Therefore, we detail the requested changes extensively to ensure that such attitudes do not occur again, and to achieve complete transparency:

1. Restructuring of the women's football hierarchy.
2. Restructuring of the President's office and General Secretary.
3. Resignation of the President of the RFEF.
4. Restructuring of the communication and marketing department.
5. Restructuring of the integrity department.

"As of today, as we have conveyed to the RFEF, the changes that have occurred are not sufficient for players to feel in a safe environment, where women are respected, women's football is supported, and where we can give our best performance."