First ever all-transgender football team kick-off their debut in Spain


First ever all-transgender football team kick-off their debut in Spain

Fenix FC was created by Hugo Martinez following much difficulty. The squad made history by becoming the first all-trans team with federated status in Europe. Martinez was compelled to withdraw from the women’s football group he was part of when he started to undergo his transition. Martinez highlights how he was not accepted by the girls’ or boys’ teams and how he sought a safe space to play football. He details how other players, coaches and spectators hurled abuse and threatened him. It took Martinez three years to set Fenix FC in motion, and the club is named after the mythical bird which symbolises rebirth. 

Luke Ibañez, 19, is Fenix FC’s team captain. He was tentative about playing football with non-trans men, so this club provided him with a great opportunity. He said: "Fenix is a team of trans boys created entirely by trans boys, but I think it's more than that - a family, a safe space where you can be free and express yourself however you want and how you really feel.” 

In 2023, Spain gave final approval to a divisive law which makes it much easier to legally change gender. While many are pleased that trans rights are being extended and the new law “de-pathologises” trans lives, others argue that such decisions encourage misogyny, and significant hostility persists in Catalonia, where the team is registered. 

Despite being defeated in their first match, many believe the fact that the members of Fenix FC were able to compete against cisgender men was a bigger achievement.

You may also like

View All

League Managers Association seeks in-house employment solicitor

The League Managers Association is hiring an in-house employment solicitor to deliver and manage legal services for the League Coaches Association and provide wider support to the LMA team

Read More

Thibus cleared of doping after kissing partner taking banned substance

French Olympic fencer, Ysaora Thibus, has had her four-year doping charge removed because she kissed her partner who was taking ostarine

Read More

Track coach banned for life after administering testosterone to his minor son

Track and field coach Michael Vowell has received a lifetime ban for administering testosterone to his son Seth Vowell, 16, who has also been sanctioned

Read More

Newsletter Signup

Please enter your email address below: