Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati says state of Spanish women’s football has not improved despite World Cup win and Luis Rubiales resignation

Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati says Spanish women’s football players are still facing “the same problems as always”..

The Barcelona midfielder was part of the team that secured a historic victory in the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

But she told BBC Sport that despite their outstanding achievements, the national team and Spain’s domestic league – Liga F – continue to face difficulties.

She said: “Nothing has changed.”

She added: “I would like to say everything has changed and the World Cup has given us more – but I can’t say that. I compare (it) to England winning the Euros – everything changed.

“But we won the World Cup, which I think is more important than winning the Euros and no, that has never changed, especially in the league. We have the same problems as always. We have a lot problems.”

Discontent within the Spanish national team long preceded the Women’s World Cup final, when many problems came to the forefront following their victory.

After kissing striker Jenni Hermoso on the lips after the final, it took almost three weeks for the former president of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, to resign.

Rubiales is currently facing sexual assault charges for the kiss as well as coercion charges related to his alleged attempts to get Hermoso to defend him afterward.

The 46-year-old also faces unrelated charges as part of a corruption investigation.

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Rubiales’ departure also follows the dismissal of former head coach Jorge Vilda in September 2023.

Vilda had been at the center of a storm since September 2022, when 15 players sent identical emails to the federation declaring their refusal to play for the national team until concerns about their “emotional state” were resolved .

When he was fired, the federation released a statement signed by interim president Pedro Rocha apologizing for Rubiales’ behavior, which it called “totally unacceptable.”

The Spanish FA still does not have an official president following Rubiales’ departure, but Vilda has since been replaced by former Barcelona player Montse Tome – who also became Spain Women’s first female manager.

But the conflict did not end there.

A total of 81 players said they were boycotting the national team after the Rubiales kiss.

But many of the striking players then turned up at a Nations League camp in late September after suggestions of legal repercussions if they failed to respond to their summons.

At the time, Hermoso released a statement saying the decision to recall players who had declared their intention to strike showed “nothing had changed.”

Eventually, most players agreed to end their boycott, with the federation releasing a statement saying they were determined to make “immediate and profound changes” in the wake of everything that had happened.

But now, seven months later, Bonmati has once again echoed Hermoso’s words.

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She told BBC Sport: “I would love to say everything has changed, but no, it hasn’t.

“The worst thing is that we don’t see any clear changes in the near future. It’s sad.”