Spain’s Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has announced an agreement that will give women football players and referees access to fertility treatments, including IVF and egg freezing, according to Reuters.
The federation has partnered with fertility clinic Tambre on the initiative, which it described as a pioneering measure aimed at helping women in elite sport make decisions about motherhood without having to put their careers on hold.
The agreement will remain in place until 2029.
Under the programme, the RFEF will cover the full cost of egg-freezing treatment for Spanish internationals who have been called up at least twice. The agreement also provides access to other fertility-related treatments and services.
The programme is intended to give women more reproductive options during careers that can overlap with the years when fertility begins to decline.
Spanish internationals Olga Carmona and Patri Guijarro attended the announcement and welcomed the initiative.
Carmona said the agreement gives players another option when deciding when and how they want to become mothers.
Guijarro said women in football have spent years pushing for better work-life balance and that players should not feel forced to choose between their careers and their personal lives.
A wider push for maternity rights
The RFEF says the fertility programme is part of a broader effort to improve working conditions for women in football.
Reyes Bellver Alonso, the federation’s director of women’s football, pointed to changes in players’ contracts and protections around pregnancy and motherhood, including the removal of anti-pregnancy clauses.
The federation also said the new programme is not intended to encourage players to postpone motherhood.
Instead, it says fertility treatment should provide an additional choice for women who may want to have children later but do not want their sporting careers to determine when they become mothers.
The RFEF already has measures designed to support players who become mothers while continuing to compete. These include arrangements that allow players to have their children nearby during away trips, training camps and tournaments.
Bellver Alonso said the wider conversation around motherhood and work-life balance was important because it could help bring more attention to the challenges women face across different workplaces.
The initiative has also faced criticism
Not everyone has welcomed the federation’s approach. Olympic bronze medallist and Spanish triple jumper Ana Peleteiro criticised the programme on social media, describing it as “deeply sexist.”
The CCOO trade union also questioned the emphasis on fertility treatment, arguing that women in sport need stronger workplace protections that allow them to have children without putting their careers at risk.
The criticism reflects a broader debate around fertility preservation in the workplace.
While egg freezing can give some women another reproductive option, it does not guarantee a future pregnancy. Critics argue that measures supporting women who want to become mothers during their careers, including pregnancy protections, maternity leave, childcare and genuine flexibility, are equally important.
The RFEF maintains that the fertility programme is intended to complement those protections rather than replace them.
The federation has described the agreement as part of the progress made in women’s football around maternity rights, contracts and work-life balance.
