The Spanish League players have started the first women's strike in the European football history. They struggle for a collective agreement.

Amanda Sampedro, Silvia Meseguer and Virginia Torrecilla shoot first time, no goals photo: imago

BARCELONA taz | Everything was ready in the sports city Dani Jarque at the ring road of Barcelona. Saturday at noon, first Match of the ninth match day of the Spanish women's football League between hosts Espanyol and Granadilla, Tenerife. The sky is deep blue, the grass a rich green, the cameras were mounted, some tickets sold. As it soon turned out, was missing however, something that is for the implementation of a game essential game.

That is, some of them were already there, as Espanyols captain's wife Paloma Fernández. To explain, however, just to be in street clothes the reporters that they will not move. That you really do it: the preventing a duel in Barcelona, the first woman to be strike by the international football history began. The second Saturday game between Levante and Huelva accounted for, on Sunday for more games like the sevillan Derby between Betis and FC, or the Matches of the top clubs FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid followed. "Sad that it had to come to this," said Fernández in a mauve-colored knit sweater on the edge of the field on which you are engaged, otherwise, their profession: "But the reasons you know all."

Over 13 months and 21 rounds of negotiations, the players had with the club Association to a framework collective agreement wrestled, the first of its kind on its part would be in Europe for women's football. Last had on the Ministry of labour and sports Committee. However, with the agreement that is currently in Spain for such a thing. In the policy, the fourth parliamentary elections took it to a months-long Blockade in as many years, so maybe, once again, a government is established. In football, everything has brought nothing so far.

It sounds like the value in dispute compared to the usual sums of money in the Megabahis kick business is downright ridiculous. It's about salaries that are barely above the General statutory minimum wage in Spain of 12,600 euros per year. With respect to the full-time contracts may have had only a few League clubs and players at a minimum wage of € 16,000 even. However, in the case of part-time contracts, the fronts remained hard. The unions demanded a mandatory salary of 12,000 euros, the employer (Acff) there were only 8,000.

Overall, and including in addition to the cost of the difference between the performances of both sides is around 1.5 million euros. "We may not be able to sign what some of the clubs not be able to cope", according to the Acff. Are meant, rather, not the Barca's or atlético, but about Granadilla Tenerife with only a few hundred thousand euros. Or Valencia, where the mother club zuschießt according to the head of Department Salvador Belda up to 40 percent of the budget: "We will pay for years the Fiesta. But we can't put money in, the people do.“

13 of the 16 Clubs are organized in the Acff. Of 250 players so far, not even half earn according to the newspaper El País, the target of 16,000 Euro, even though the salaries have increased in the last three years, by an average of 30 percent per season. Women's football is booming in Spain, but he is not booming enough. "According to the forecasts for this season the competition remains in deficit," - said of the Acff.

"The competition this season remains in deficit"

The up to the weekend's last fight in the Spanish football had led in the summer of 2011 the men due to outstanding salary payments. Chief trade unionist of today's football Association President Luis Rubiales was at the time. In the current conflict, he plays an obscure role. As part of a infantile duration of the dispute with the Spanish League, he had brought in the summer, the skills on the women's football Association back. Instead of the Acff-negotiated television contract with revenue of nearly € 200,000 per club, he promised initially more than Double. So far, however, invested no money.

And so the women will be picketing so now your League, for an indefinite period of time. On the weekend, there were solidarity and words of male kickers. "The ladies, the fight for their rights, I send my full support," said about Antoine Griezmann. Would he and a few others now make a fraction of their salaries – the Problem could be fairly easily solved.