Spain: new women's football league in 2021-22 to accelerate its professionalisation

The path towards the professionalisation of women's football in Spain will take a new step forward with the birth of a new league named "Liga Ellas" ("Ellas" means "they" in female, in Spanish) from the 2020-21 season, according to Irene Lozano, president of the High Council for Sports (Consejo Superior de Deportes or CSD, the Secretary of State for Sport of Spain), on 25/03/2021.

The 16-club Liga Ellas will replace the current Primera Iberdrola (18 clubs) and will be under the supervision of the CSD for three seasons, until 2024. It will be run by a newly created league as part of a coordination agreement soon to be signed with the Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol (RFEF), which is currently the sole body in charge of the elite women's championship.

A separate entity should also be created to manage the main commercial rights of the Liga Ellas, in particular the audiovisual rights which are currently not centralised. The renegotiation of the women's football collective agreement signed in 2020 is also under discussion in order to better protect the players and increase the minimum…