"We used to skip work so we could go train": the seed of the current Barça women's team
The pioneers recall anecdotes from the early years of women's football in Spain under Franco's dictatorship.
BarcelonaMore than 55 years ago, a group of pioneering women made history by defying the society of that time. On December 25, 1970—still under Franco's dictatorship—Barça Women played their first match at Camp Nou. Imma Cabecerán was one of those responsible after meeting with the then-president of Barça, Agustí Montal i Costa. "If you bring me 15 girls, go ahead," was the response from the top Barça official. And so it was done. Through an advertisement in the newspaper, many women called to join the project. "They told us to meet at the Barcelona sports complex, where the Miniestadi used to be. After a month of training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the day arrived to play at Camp Nou," explains Lolita Ortiz (Barcelona, 1944), one of the pioneers who is currently part of the Barça Women's Players Association.
Led by the legendary Barça goalkeeper Antoni Ramallets, everything was amateur, as evidenced by the fact that he had to take time off work to be able to play. "It was a miracle. Training was at ten in the morning and I couldn't go because I was working. That year, instead of closing the company and taking our vacations together, they told me we would stagger them. I quickly went to the personnel department to make the proposal so I could go to training, but I used up my entire month of vacation (1948)," said another of the footballers who was at Camp Nou on the first day.
The surprise came when they entered the locker room. "We found a white shirt, without a crest, blue shorts, and white socks. So we said, we won't go out there unless they give us, at the very least, some Barça-red socks," Ortiz recalls. And so it was. Once kitted out, they walked onto the pitch under the gaze of 60,000 people. The match was played as part of the pre-game festivities before a Barça-CSKA Sofia men's game. "I froze because I started hearing the murmur of the crowd. You hear talking, shouting, applauding… We went out and they had made the pitch smaller," Ortiz exclaims. "They must have thought, 'Those women won't last,'" Nieto adds.
That day, the seed of the current Barça women's team was planted. Later, other players joined, such as Maria Teresa Andreu (Barcelona, 1952), who had to sneak away from work to be able to go to training. "I was a lawyer's secretary. I'd take advantage of the fact that they were at the courthouse in the mornings to go play and I'd come back before they arrived. My colleagues would cover for me in case someone called and asked for me. They never caught me," she says.
A shield of its own
Despite the difficulties, they were able to attend several tournaments in Spain and across Europe. "We're talking about the Franco era, when it was impossible for women to participate in sports. We fought against the sexist mentality of the time, but when you have the desire and enthusiasm, you can overcome anything," Andreu recalls. "The only thing that gave us money, about 10,000 pesetas, was Montal. We sold membership cards, lottery tickets, Christmas baskets…" Ortiz says.
However, offensive comments were common, from signs like "Come see some fantastic or beautiful players" or "Ladies" to laughter when a player fell. "A journalist said to me, 'Aren't you afraid that when you go to the beach people will see your legs?' Ramallets would calm me down," Ortiz says, laughing. "We laugh about it now, but we didn't back then," Nieto points out.
They were initially the Barcelona City Selection before becoming the Women's Barcelona Supporters Club. "Later we managed to get the Barça jersey, but without the crest. It was the men's jersey, and you had to adapt to the available sizes," Nieto explains. Since they couldn't wear the official Barça crest, they had to create their own. "The father of my children made it; it's the Barça logo and the Barça Atlètic diamond," Ortiz describes. A crest that the club wanted to honor in the 2023-24 season with a transparent diamond. "They didn't do it the same way because we have it patented at home. They would have had to tell me and I would have said 'use this one'. When I saw it, I thought, 'That's not our crest,' we weren't happy," Ortiz criticizes.
They still go to the Johan Cruyff box to watch the matches and travel to the Champions League finals. "I've only missed two; the one in Gothenburg because of the pandemic and the one in Lisbon, for which we were signed up for the trip organized by the club, and two days before the match they cancelled everything," Andreu complains. "They dangled the idea in front of us and at the last minute told us no," Ortiz adds.
Legalization in Spain
"It's easy to talk about women's football now, but not in our day," remarks Andreu, who was a player, coach, manager, and even a referee in a friendly match. She was also one of those responsible for the legalization of women's football in Spain around 1980, when it had already been regulated in the rest of Europe for some time. "We went to Madrid to speak with the general secretary of the Spanish Federation, Agustín Domínguez. We asked him to clarify that the Federation was for both men and women—as stated in the new Constitution—and he kicked us out for having made demands. Then, I had the idea of calling José María García, who was opposed to the Federation president, Pablo Porta, and he told us. We looked at the clock and said, if we don't stop, except for gas and bathroom breaks, we'll arrive. After two months, women's football was legalized in Spain," explains a cheerful Andreu.
Maria Teresa Andreu was also responsible for organizing the first leagues in Catalonia and Spain, as well as the women's national team. "There has been women's competition in Catalonia every year since 1971," Andreu points out. All of this without receiving any pay. "I had my own business, a jewelry store with my husband in Barcelona, and every Tuesday I went to Madrid," adds the executive, who also changed the rules to include mixed-gender football at the youth levels so that girls could play from a young age.
After leaving the Spanish Federation in 2000, Joan Gaspart called her to run for president of Barça. After winning, she integrated women's football into the club's structure. A new step had been taken: officially becoming part of FC Barcelona. Now, the former Barça executive wants to return to the club alongside Víctor Font. "It's important that women have a presence on the board of directors; 30% are members." She also emphasizes the need to have women's teams in all professional sections. "Barça is more than a club and should give everyone the same opportunity we had in 1970 in all sports," he concludes.