Amanda Gutiérrez (L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona; 33 years old) experiences the realities of female players in Spain first hand. As president of FutPro, the majority union of female footballers, she expresses her complaints about the lack of investment in the infrastructure of the Liga F clubs, the need for a common path to provide more rights to female footballers, or the tight national and international calendar. “It may seem arrogant to ask for a shorter League, but in the end you get rid of clubs that are not up to the level of a professional category,” says Gutiérrez in her office. Pregnant, she will soon be the mother of a little girl. The signing of the second collective agreement for women’s football is also close, with a competition more “open to dialogue.” Motherhood, mental health and protection in case of harassment are fundamental for her. “It is not perfect, but it is an evolution with respect to the previous one. Now we have to continue working on it so that when we have to negotiate the next one, we can do it better,” she confesses about the text.
Ask. What is a footballer’s biggest fear?
Answer. Their fears are simpler than people think, like getting injured and not recovering properly, being replaced by other players by the coach, feeling like a piece of shit. There’s a lot to do with mental health, but obviously also with clubs having the infrastructure to prevent these injuries.
P. Do you have them?
R. We find F League clubs that do not take charge of the recovery of the player, and they have to pay for it. Imagine a player who is on the minimum wage of the agreement (22,500 euros this season), who has to spend more than half of it on her medical treatment and then does not recover well and cannot return. And with the costs of housing, food or having a family. It is still a job with temporary contracts where perhaps the season ends, they do not renew and they do not have more offers. What do they do?
P. It’s hard to see the F League as a professional.
R. You cannot say that you have a professional league when there are clubs that do not take care of the medical treatment of their players, do not have their own dressing room, do not pay salaries on time, do not have fields in good condition to put on a good show or have coaches who behave inappropriately with their players… I could say many things that we still have to do to really honour that name we have as professional. And as long as the clubs do not invest and have a strategic plan, the League will not be competitive. We have met with directors in meetings saying that, if it were not for them, their club would not have a women’s section, and they would allocate that money to the men’s section.
P. Is this why there is a brain drain?
R. The talent drain is real. What those who leave tell us is that they leave because they don’t feel that the League is still in its prime. Now the management has to take it as a challenge. But we can’t keep saying that we have a good League just because we have two or three teams at Champions League level. It would be a good indication that things are going well to see a Champions League final between two Spanish teams.
P. Last year the league started with a strike. This season everything seems to be calmer.
R. Everything is calmer. There is more dialogue now, and the Liga F has been more open regarding the collective agreement and, with the economic issue resolved last year, also regarding issues such as maternity, mental health, sexual harassment protocol and other benefits for the players. The negotiations have been more friendly.
P. And communication with the Federation?
R. The relationship between the Federation and the different levels of women’s football is more constructive. The situation is also improving at a sporting level, which in the end were the main demands, and they are calmer. But it is true that the Federation has not had a period of stability since last year, and that makes it very difficult for higher management levels to continue changing things. But at the moment we are in a period of truce until the situation can be stabilised and we can continue fighting for improvements.
P. When did you last speak to the president of Liga F, Beatriz Álvarez?
R. It was at the Liga F gala last week. We talked about how eager we were to sign the agreement and get to work. I kept reminding him of a few points.
P. When will it be signed?
R. It is a bureaucratic issue. We have to choose dates to meet and finalise the text. In the end, we are five unions and a League that also includes some clubs. Hopefully it will be as soon as possible.
P. Motherhood is an important point.
R. Female footballers are protected by labour laws in Spain, but the collective agreement must be used to protect them even more. Now, if they become pregnant, they have an extra year of contract. But we must ensure that they are able to return to work in their full capacities and with guarantees, also working as we learn about more cases, since each birth and each woman is different.
P. Many of them do not consider becoming mothers.
R. They don’t have much knowledge of what rights or facilities they may have, and it is something that we have discussed with the League: we are going to make an agreement in which we can guarantee their return, and we are going to promote it. As a result of this, we also talked about mental health, in case of doubts about whether they will be able to return. There are many clubs that have a psychologist, but the players do not trust them for fear that they will tell the coach. From there, the League was asked to look for companies that provide external psychologists in an unlimited manner and 24/7, regardless of where the player is. We have to be proactive and look at the problem head on, not as has been done in other cases, looking the other way.
P. For example.
R. We had the Alhama case (the harassment, homophobic comments and degrading treatment of female footballers by Juan Antonio García, known as Randriwhen he was coach of the Murcia club), in which the League did nothing. That was dangerous, because you send a message to your players that nothing is happening.
P. Are there more Alhama cases that are unknown?
R. Yes. And there are more players who do not dare to report because they saw at the time how unprotected the female footballers were left with the Alhama case. That is why redefining the harassment protocol was very important. We explained it to the League, they understood it, we put a protocol on the table and we worked together on that model that I hope will soon be seen, when the agreement is signed. One section talks about how we educate the players to identify when a behaviour is inappropriate, and also the training of the staff that surrounds the players.
P. It’s been a year since Rubiales case. What legacy has he left?
R. What happened at the World Cup showed that when they unite they can achieve whatever they want. That statement signed by so many players shook the Federation, but also the CSD and even the Government. It is a lesson that is also extrapolated to society. Many times we are separated by fear, so that our voices are lower.
P. What would you tell your daughter if she wanted to be a footballer?
R. It would make me happy, I have also played, and it would make me feel proud, because from my position, although I may have made a thousand mistakes, I have done my bit to make women’s football a better place and if my daughter wanted to, she could dedicate herself to it as a profession. As advice, I would tell her to never forget that strength lies in being together.
