Spain's Women's World Cup winners maintain boycott of team hours before new coach picks first squad

Fri, Sep 15, 2023
Soccer News (AP)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Spain's World Cup-winning players are continuing their refusal to play for the women's national team, the country's soccer federation said Friday, just hours before new coach Montse Tome was set to announce her first squad.

Tome will now have to decide whether to still call up the revolting players, or select a completely different team for upcoming Nations League games against Sweden and Switzerland on Sept. 22 and 26. She was set to announce her picks later Friday.

Spain's women have had little chance to celebrate their greatest soccer achievement because Luis Rubiales, the now former president of the federation, caused an uproar when he kissed player Jenni Hermoso at the awards ceremony in Sydney on Aug. 20.

The 23 players, plus more than 50 others, responded to his subsequent refusal to step down in the days after the kiss by announcing that they would not play for their nation again until the federation underwent deep reforms and had new leadership.

Rubiales eventually announced he would step down, and coach Jorge Vilda was fired less than three weeks after the team's World Cup triumph.

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