Even amidst the celebrations at Stadium Australia following Spain’s first-ever Women’s World Cup victory, signs of the ongoing protest against the Royal Spanish Football Federation and head coach Jorge Vilda were visible for all to see. Spain’s players initially celebrated their triumph by themselves while the coaching staff was on the other side of the pitch, and Vilda seemed generally unwelcome in larger festive gatherings per images and videos from the pitch. Some players eventually acknowledged the head coach and tossed him in the air after the match, but it was notably not the full group.
Vilda’s name was also booed twice by the crowd of 75,000 in Sydney, first before kickoff when the starting lineups and coaches’ names were announced before and then when he received his medal following Spain’s victory.
Vilda and the federation have been under fire for nearly a year over failing to create a professional environment for the team. A group of 15 players sent individual but identical emails in September 2022 asking not to be called up until certain changes were made, including Golden Ball winner Aitana Bonmati. The players’ complaints reportedly included insufficient preparation for matches, including…
