In September 2022, 15 Spain women’s national team players revolted against their federation and their coach Jorge Vilda.
It would have taken some real imagination to foresee then where La Roja would end up 11 months later: a World Cup final.
But this is not a pure feel-good story of redemption. Instead, it’s a tale filled with ambivalence as Spain’s players heroically succeed on the pitch and in doing so, further embolden and entrench the forces they revolted against.
Of the 15 players who revolted last fall, only three made the World Cup roster: Ona Batlle, Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey. All three were on the pitch on Tuesday as Spain defeated Sweden 2-1 in a thrilling semifinal that saw all three goals in the final 10 minutes.
Five of the remaining 12 made themselves available for the World Cup but were not picked. That leaves seven, including stars Patri Guijarro and Mapi León, who refused to return.
“It will really piss me off not to go to the World Cup, but my values come first,” León said in March.
The players who have returned (or at least made themselves available) made a complex calculation. Perhaps some felt that at least a few of their demands had been met, as ESPN reported in June that travel and staffing conditions had improved. Maybe the prospect of missing a World Cup was too much to bear.
But as La Roja’s players make history on the field, their success increasingly validates Vilda, whom the 15 players attempted to oust last fall, according to the Spanish federation (RFEF).
The response from the RFEF was defiant. Not only did they dismiss the players’ concerns, they threatened the 15 who demanded Vilda’s ouster, saying they would only be recalled “if they accept their mistake and ask for forgiveness.”
Leading up to the World Cup semifinal, Vilda expressed his appreciation to his federation.
“I would like to acknowledge the backing and the support of our president Luis Rubiales from the very first day,” Vilda said at a press conference.
“Without that we would not be here. I’m quite sure all of this would not have happened. We have a president who reacted with courage and put his trust in me and my technical team, and we are very happy about the whole process.”
Except, not everybody seems happy. Certainly not the players who aren’t at the World Cup, either by choice or by exclusion. The onus will now fall on the players remaining to force more changes.
It may be difficult to fully root for Spain as a neutral, but there’s no doubt that if they do win the World Cup, they’ll have even more of a platform to demand change.
Christen Press, who was part of the U.S. women’s national team that barely defeated Spain in the last 16 of the 2019 World Cup, explained on the latest episode of “The RE-CAP Show” why she is still rooting for Spain at this World Cup.
“Ultimately I will always root for the players on the field,” Press said, “and I will hope that their success, their greatness, their beautiful performances, their goals — I hope the whole country can get behind them and I hope that it will help them get a voice. That’s sort of what you want to celebrate in sport is this idea that you can play for these changes.”
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