Women's football in Spain is not one of the traditional powers of women's football since the sport has a small following. Although football in the most popular sport in
Spain
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, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, Men's football usually gets the biggest following. Currently there are two national competitions, the
League
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Sports
* Sports league
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and the
Copa de la Reina
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COPA
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(English: Queen's Cup), in the semi-professional club involved structure.
History
Women's football was recorded as being played as early as the 1910s. Between the 1930s and 1975, women were forbidden from playing football. The
Royal Spanish Football Federation (RSFF) did not recognize women's football until 1980. Women did not have a national league until 1988. In 2019 the Spanish FA committed to spending $20 million in the area of women's football.
National competition
The first teams and the first informal women's football competitions in Spain emerged in the 1970s, although they were not officially recognized by the Royal Spanish Football Federation until 1980, with the founding of the National Women's Football Committee. The first official national competition was the Copa de la Reina, established in 1983. The women's national league began to dispute the 1988-89 season.
Primera División is the national competition for female football players in Spain.
Below the Primera División, there is a second tier called
Primera Federación
The Primera Federación, formerly known as Primera División RFEF, is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. It is below the top t ...
, where its teams are divided into seven groups.
In 2020 Primera Federación teams became full time professionals.
The lower tiers are administered by the regional federations.
National team
The
Spain women's national football team
The Spain women's national football team ( es, Selección Española de Fútbol Femenina) has represented Spain in international women's football competition since 1980, and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing ...
has qualified three times to the
FIFA Women's World Cup, and three times in the
UEFA Women's Championship
The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years, is the main competition in women's association football between national teams of the UEFA confederation. The competition is the women's equivalen ...
. The furthest the senior national team has reached at international compettion is the semi finals at
UEFA Women's Euro 1997
The 1997 UEFA Women's Championship, also referred to as Women's Euro 1997 was a football tournament held in 1997 in Norway and Sweden. The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tournament involving European national teams from countries affili ...
. The
women's national U-20 team were runner-ups at the
2018 U-20 World Cup. The
U-19 national team won the
UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship
The UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship or simply UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship, is a competition in women's football for European national teams of players under 19 years of age. National under-19 teams whose countries belong to the ...
in
2004,
2017
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, and
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
. The
national U-17 team also won the
U-17 European Championship in
2010,
2011,
2015and
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
, as well as becoming the champion at the
2018 U-17 World Cup and finalists in the
2014 U-17 World Cup.
See also
*
Football in Spain
Football is the most popular sport in Spain. Spain has some of the most important teams in Europe (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Seville, Valencia, and others). It also has a high number of players (most of them being unprofession ...
*
Spain women's national football team
The Spain women's national football team ( es, Selección Española de Fútbol Femenina) has represented Spain in international women's football competition since 1980, and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing ...
*
List of foreign Liga F players
References
{{Spain-sport-stub