"We feel we've been listened to." That's Patri Guijarro, speaking at the announcement of a deal that signals a genuine shift in how Spanish football treats its female athletes — not just on the pitch, but in their personal lives too.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has signed an agreement with Madrid fertility clinic Tambre to cover the full cost of egg-freezing treatment and provide a range of benefits linked to other fertility treatments, including IVF, for female internationals. To qualify, players and referees need to have been called up at least twice. The deal runs until 2029.
What the deal actually covers
The RFEF will foot the entire bill for egg freezing. For other fertility treatments, players receive a package of benefits rather than full coverage — the federation hasn't published the exact breakdown, but the direction is clear: remove the financial barrier that forces athletes to choose between their career and the possibility of having children later.
Olga Carmona, who won the World Cup with Spain in 2023 and has been one of the standout players in European football over the past two years, welcomed it plainly: "We are very happy to have reached this agreement, to have one more option to decide how and when to choose to become a mother."
Guijarro framed it as part of a longer fight. Female athletes in elite sport have historically had to either have children during their careers — risking contract security and form — or delay motherhood until retirement. Egg freezing doesn't solve that tension entirely, but it buys time and options.
Not everyone is applauding
The announcement landed with some friction. Olympic bronze medallist Ana Peleteiro called the measure "deeply sexist" on social media, and the CCOO trade union argued the focus should stay on protecting pregnancy during active competition rather than offering fertility workarounds. Their concern: that fertility support could quietly replace stronger, more direct workplace protections for mothers.
It's a legitimate tension. The RFEF was quick to clarify the initiative isn't designed to push players away from having children while active — existing support already allows mothers to bring children on away trips and training camps. This is meant to sit alongside those measures, not substitute them.
Women's football director Reyes Bellver Alonso put it directly: "If there is one area where work has been done on maternity rights, the protection of women, the protection of contracts and work-life balance in women's sport, it is football." Whether that claim fully holds up is debatable. But the fertility deal is concrete, costed, and in place — and for female players navigating a short career window, that matters.
