The Spanish Federation seeks a historic agreement on fertility

BarcelonaNew step forward in women's football. The Spanish Federation (RFEF) is close to reaching an agreement with a fertility clinic to facilitate egg freezing for players of the Spanish national team, according to an advance by El País. Motherhood is one of the major points of focus in women's sports, as when a player becomes pregnant, she stops her physical activity for a few months. "Many players postpone the decision to become mothers and, when they make it, it may already be too late. We try to ensure they are not conditioned by their careers," assures Marta Perarnau, president of the players' association FUTPRO, to the cited media.

"Returning to compete after becoming a mother is very difficult; we don't have scientific studies on female footballers, we don't have recovery protocols, we don't know what they need to do to recover and perform at their best," she adds. In the latest collective agreement of the Lliga F — published in the BOE on April 25, 2025 — a series of requirements that clubs had to comply with were agreed upon. In the event that the player becomes pregnant during her last season of contract, she will have the option to renew for one more year under the same conditions, according to article 42 of the text.

Furthermore, entities that are part of the Women's First Division are obliged to provide a breastfeeding room in their facilities — for both training and matches — and to provide a childcare service during training sessions and matches for children under three years of age who are the offspring of a team footballer. On the other hand, Liga F commits to providing "specialized and qualified" staff to players who request it during pregnancy or postpartum.

In Alexia Putellas' interview with El País, the former Barcelona player confessed that the captains of the Spanish national team had conveyed to the RFEF the debate on how to combine motherhood with a professional career. "For me it is a very big step forward [the agreement to freeze eggs] because the Federation understands that you are serving your country against your biological clock, that you cannot stop and cannot be a mother because you need your body to work," explains the player from Mollet del Vallès.

Precisely, this Monday the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE) has reached an agreement with the Ruber Internacional clinic so that female and male players can access the center's assisted reproduction unit during the next year. This collaboration will facilitate members of the association to undergo fertility treatments, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, or to carry out preimplantation genetic testing and the non-invasive prenatal test. “Reproductive health is part of the integral well-being of male and female athletes, and increasingly more are seeking specialized advice to plan their family project or preserve fertility,” stated Geni Martínez, head of health at AFE.

A legal problem and other precedent

However, not everything is rosy. Currently, neither FIFA nor UEFA have regulations for fertility treatment and egg preservation. Medical information is private, and no player is obliged to inform the club or other institutions about the start of these treatments. This issue is important, as drugs prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, such as letrozole, which would require prior authorization, can be used for egg freezing.

The RFEF agreement would not be the first in women's football. A few weeks ago, Chelsea announced one with a London fertility clinic, Fertility Plus, with which they provided personalized care, assessment, treatment, and advice to their players. "Through this pioneering collaboration, we will open the debate on fertility and help raise awareness among our fans," said Giulia Mazzia, commercial director of the London team.

A similar measure to what some teams in the North American women's soccer league have implemented in recent years. In 2021, Racing Louisville was the first to collaborate with a fertility clinic in Kentucky to offer its players the ability to freeze eggs or embryos and store them long-term for free. Other clubs like New York Gotham or Washington Spirit also reached similar agreements.

Outside of soccer, there are two cases that stand out from the rest. Last year, the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announced a historic measure whereby they could protect their world ranking classification while undergoing a procedure to preserve their fertility. This protection also applies to pregnant tennis players. Players can participate in three tournaments with a position calculated from the average over twelve weeks.

In contrast, in the North American women's basketball league (WNBA), the collective agreement signed in 2020 stipulated that players would receive 100% of their salary during maternity leave, in addition to an annual allowance of $5,000 for childcare. Furthermore, they are also entitled to receive reimbursement of up to $60,000 to cover expenses related to adoption, surrogacy, egg freezing, or fertility or infertility treatments.