Spain players end boycott after federation commits to change

Spain‘s World Cup-winning squad agreed to end their boycott of the national team early on Wednesday after the country’s football federation (RFEF) said it would make “immediate and profound changes” to its structure.

The decision was reached around 5 a.m. local time (11 p.m. ET) after more than seven hours of meetings at a hotel in Oliva, an hour from Valencia, involving the players, RFEF officials, the National Sports Council (CSD) and the women’s players’ union FUTPRO.

The players had said they would not represent Spain until there were further changes at the federation, deepening a crisis that started after former RFEF boss Luis Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the World Cup presentation ceremony.

“A joint commission will be created between RFEF, CSD and players to follow up on the agreements, which will be signed tomorrow,” CSD President Victor Francos told reporters.

“The players have expressed their concern about the need for profound changes in the RFEF, which has committed to making these changes immediately.”

Neither Francos nor Rafael del Amo, president of the RFEF committee for women’s football, would elaborate on the changes to be made, only saying they would be announced “soon.”

“The players see it as a rapprochement of…