FC Barcelona Femení

1970–1980s: Beginnings

Women's football in Spain, particularly Barcelona, had a certain level of popularity in the 1960s, but was amateur and unofficial.^[15] The "embryo" of Barcelona Femení was the Selecció Ciutat de Barcelona, formed in November 1970.^[16][17] In at least as early as the 1960s, FC Barcelona had women's teams play in exhibition games at the Camp Nou; the club does not consider these antecedents to its current women's team as they "[were] teams that had been created only for that occasion, unlike Selecció Ciutat [de Barcelona], which was created with the idea of continuity and laying the groundwork for a future project."^[18] Upon Barcelona announcing Selecció Barcelona as its new women's team, El Noticiero Universal [es] reported that the club had almost pioneered women's football in Spain "many years earlier", having gone so far as to organise a game that could not be played for reasons beyond their control.^[19]

In November 1970, footballer Immaculada Cabecerán approached the club with the proposition of a women's team, which was approved; the resulting team has continuity to the present. The Selecció Barcelona played their first match on Christmas Day 1970, winning on penalties against Unió Esportiva Centelles in front of a crowd of around 60,000 people.^[17] Although the team was not officially recognised by the club, it was the first match played by a women's team formally associated with FC Barcelona (then known as CF Barcelona). The team then changed its name to Penya Femenina Barça or Peña Femenina Barcelonista, playing more matches at the Camp Nou with large crowds.^[20] They were runner-up in the first cup competition they played, in 1971,^[21] before winning the Catalonia-based league in 1973.^[22]

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) formally recognised women's football in 1980,^[23] with Núria Llansà, one of the original players, becoming Barcelona coach in 1982 and president of the team in 1984.^[24] She remained manager until the team was incorporated as an official section of FC Barcelona.^[25]

During the 1980s, the team was renamed Club Femení Barcelona. They reached an informal integration agreement with FC Barcelona where they were allowed to use the colours, badges and facilities of the club, but it took a few more years to adopt the crest.^[26] On 29 June, 1985, the team won its first competition – the Generalitat Cup.^[27]

1988–2001: Liga Nacional and inconsistency

In 1988, Club Femení Barcelona, which was sponsored by FC Barcelona, was a founding member of the Liga Nacional, the first top-flight national women's league in Spain. Their performances in this iteration of the league were inconsistent from the start, losing to weak teams and beating otherwise unbeatable ones, cementing themselves as a mid-table team. They had a successful three-year run in the early 1990s, placing in the league top three between 1992 and 1994, and winning the 1994 Copa de la Reina de Fútbol. They subsequently declined to bottom table positions but, despite their weaker performances in the later years of the Liga Nacional, always managed to stay in the top division.^{[citation needed]}

2002–2007: Becoming an official section and Segunda División

In 2001, the league was rebranded into the Superliga Femenina due to natural growth; Barcelona was not accepted into the top division due to their poor results in the previous season and were installed in the new Superliga second division, the lowest tier of national football at the time (though sub-divided by regional group).^{[28][verification needed]} On 26 June 2002, CF Barcelona was incorporated to FC Barcelona as an official section, and the club rebranded the women's section to Futbol Club Barcelona Femení.^[28]

Barcelona won its group in the Segunda División in 2002 and 2003, but remained in the second division after unsuccessful appearances in the promotion playoffs. It was eventually promoted to the Superliga Femenina in 2004. Once promoted, the team enjoyed some popularity in the 2004–05 season due to the signing of the Mexican international Maribel "Marigol" Domínguez and the Spanish María Luisa Coimbra, though this did not translate into quality results for the team.^{[29][verification needed]} Xavi Llorens was hired as manager in 2006 to replace Natalia Astrain, but Llorens was unable to keep the section in the Superliga. At the end of the 2006–07 season, the team was relegated from the Superliga and the club considered dissolving the section.^{[citation needed]}

2008–2015: Return to the top flight and first Golden Era

Barcelona returned to the Superliga in 2008, and between 2009 and 2011, they consolidated themselves in top positions in the league table.^{[30][verification needed]} In 2011, they won their second Copa de la Reina, beating local rivals Espanyol 1–0 in the final.^[30] In 2012, they won their first league title with a then-record 94 points,^[31] qualifying for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time before exiting in the first round.^{[32][verification needed]} They successfully defended the league in 2013 with a last matchday away win over leading team Athletic Bilbao, before winning the 2013 Copa de la Reina to become the fifth Spanish women's team to achieve the domestic double.^{[32][verification needed]}

Barcelona qualified for the quarterfinals of the Women's Champions League for the first time in the 2013–14 edition,^[33] a season in which they won their third straight league title. Between 17 April 2011 and 11 December 2011, Barcelona maintained a 15-match winning streak, the longest consecutive run in Spanish women's football history by 2015; and between 23 September 2012 and 20 April 2014, they had a 54-game unbeaten run, another record at the time.^[34] By the end of the 2013–14 season, the club referred to the previous four years of Barcelona Femení as a Golden Era in which they "absolutely dominated the Spanish football scene", and the team had received their own section in the Barça Museum.^[33] In the following 2014–15 season, they became the first team in the Spanish women's league to win four straight league titles.^[35]

2015–2018: Professionalism and rivalry with Atlético Madrid

In the summer of 2015, the club made the decision to professionalise the women's section.^[28] Despite their domestic success, players were unable to make a living playing for Barcelona Femení, and the club knew it could not compete in the Champions League against professional teams from other countries.^[36] The team had made a sponsorship deal with Stanley Tools in 2014, which allowed them to become professional,^[36] and added a shirt deal in 2018 that made Stanley the first shirt sponsor specific to the women's team.^[37]

Barcelona's domestic dominance ended as they went through the process of becoming professional, with then-captain Vicky Losada later saying that the jump "was a big change" initially, disrupting the team.^[36] As part of their new professionalism, Barcelona placed a greater priority on competing in the Champions League,^[38] though focused on improving conditions rather than immediately trying to match the level of foreign teams.^[39] They reached their first Champions League semifinal in the 2016–17 season, which was compared to the rapid rise of Manchester City W.F.C., who had become professional and achieved this milestone at the same times as Barcelona.^[38]

This period also coincided with Atlético Madrid Femenino "emerg[ing] as a really strong side". Atlético became a challenger to Barcelona's success, and did so by playing with a style that counteracted Barcelona's: a rivalry developed between the teams that Losada described as the women's Clásico.^[36][40] Atlético won the three league titles between the 2016–17 and 2018–19 seasons, and Barcelona were runners-up in each of those seasons.^[41][36]

After struggling against Atlético for a few years,^[36] Barcelona beat them in the final of the 2017 Copa de la Reina, in Llorens' final match as coach.^[42] Llorens had come in to restructure the women's section when it was weak, and his departure also brought about change. Under his replacement, Fran Sánchez, Barcelona Femení moved away from its focus on development and integration of youth players^[36][38] and signed multiple big names in international football, including England star Toni Duggan^[38] and Lieke Martens, who they made the highest-paid female footballer. In the summer of 2018, Barcelona Femení joined the men's team on a pre-season tour for the first time, one of the measures that made The Guardian consider them a groundbreaker in "growing commercial opportunities" and promoting equality for women's football.^[43]

2019–present: Second Golden Era

Barcelona defeated Atlético at the Wanda Metropolitano on 17 March 2019, in a match that broke the world record for attendance at a women's club football match with 60,739 attendees.^[41] Later that season, Barcelona progressed to their first ever Champions League final, meeting and losing 1–4 to five-time Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais Féminin.^[44] Starting in summer 2019, Barcelona aimed to reduce the number of signings each year, returning to the long-term project of homegrown talent as the basis of the team. They began only incorporating external players who connected to the team's style, with Losada insisting that "the style of the club is sacred."^[36]

After having been runners-up in all competitions for two years, Barcelona won four titles in the 2019–20 season,^{[citation needed]} but did not reach the final of the 2019–20 Champions League, which the club considered disappointing.^[45] Since 2020, Barcelona has won the league and reached the Champions League final every season, while also winning at least one of the Copa de la Reina and Supercopa each year.^{[citation needed]}

They also pushed for further improvement in conditions and standards of professionalism during this period.^[46] In 2020–21 they won the Champions League for the first time by defeating Chelsea 4–0 in the final.^[47] Having played the first professional women's match at the Camp Nou in January 2021,^[48] and also achieving a continental treble,^[49][50] the club initially announced that then-manager Lluís Cortés was set to stay.^[51] Cortés abruptly left a month later in a mutual termination as staff and players felt there was a need for change in the management.^[52][53] Prior to his departure, the news caused significant speculation, with some media saying that the players had asked for him to be sacked, villainising them^[54][55] – Cortés said such rumours were unfounded.^[46] Amidst the media heat, Barcelona suffered their only league defeat of the season, losing 3–4 to rivals Atlético Madrid,^[56] but still achieved a record 33 wins and 99 points in the league.^[57]

Losing their manager did not harm the team: their 2021–22 season is considered one of the most dominant in football.^{[59][60][61][62]} Grant Wahl said the team was one of the best women's sides in history, and attributed their resilience and increasing success to having established a new culture within the team itself.^[59] Continuing to excel in all competitions, Barcelona also began to dominate in individual awards. In November 2021, captain Alexia Putellas won her first Ballon d'Or Féminin, with Hermoso placing second. Putellas went on to sweep all individual awards corresponding to the previous season, the first such player to do so.^[63] Their dominance in Spain also reached new heights. On 23 January 2022, Barcelona summarily defeated Atlético 7–0 in the Supercopa final,^[64] and had mathematically won the league by March.^[65]

Though they did not win the Champions League, losing to Lyon in the final again,^[62] their Champions League campaign was also historic, as they twice set a new official world record for attendance of a women's football match. Barcelona beat Real Madrid and then Wolfsburg at the Camp Nou, with respective attendances of 91,553 and 91,648.^[59][66][67] Putellas repeated her individual trophy-winning success.^[68]

The summer of 2022 brought about a large shift in Barcelona's squad with four major player departures, including all-time top scorer Hermoso and longest-serving player and record appearances holder Melanie Serrano, and more signings than they had made in years to balance the squad. As one of these, Barcelona paid €470,000 to Manchester City for Keira Walsh, breaking the world record for a transfer fee in women's football.^[69][70][71] The team continued to succeed and grow, winning three titles, including their second Champions League after a comeback victory over Wolfsburg in the final.^[72][73] Midfielder Aitana Bonmatí then won all individual titles, with the most decorated season of any footballer.^[74]

Barcelona Femení has a fan base distinct from that of the men's team, even when the team has sold out the main stadiums. The popularity of the team grew vastly in the years after it became professional. Part of the reason for the growth in popularity is connected to the growth of feminism in the 2010s. The audience for Barcelona Femení includes both men – reportedly mostly men who do not watch the Barcelona men's team – and women. There are also significant numbers of young people who attend Barcelona Femení matches. Supporters of the team typically support feminist values in society and sport, as well as the team itself.^[75]

Around the time of their professionalisation, the team made an effort to gain more regular supporters attending matches. Having been dominant within Spain, the staff knew that winning was not enough and worked on ways to engage potential fans.^[39] Research conducted around this time suggested that the lack of widespread support for Barcelona Femení was primarily because of the power hierarchy within global and glocalised football that under-appreciated women.^[76]: 60

The team moved to the Johan Cruyff Stadium in 2019, located in Sant Joan Despí, a town north of the city of Barcelona. They previously played at the Mini Estadi, next to the Camp Nou. Despite playing outside of the city, by 2022 the team had averaged crowds four times larger than when they played at the Mini Estadi. This was attributed by sport director Markel Zubizarreta not to the team becoming more successful, but to the club treating the women's players equal to the men's in advertising and merchandising.^[77]

In 2022, the audience for Barcelona Femení games was also more varied than that of the men's team, which has been suggested to be due to the fact the women's team did not offer season tickets. The crowd for men's games were mostly season ticket holders and tourists who bought last-minute remaining tickets, while most tickets to women's games were bought as part of four-ticket packs.^[75] For Champions League matches in December 2022, 96% of the attendees purchased their tickets from Spain.^[75]

Barcelona Femení's first rivalry was against local rivals Espanyol, against whom they played their first matches in 1971.^[20] The first league match between them, in 1988, resulted in a 2–2 draw; though most teams in the league at the time were from the Barcelona area, the Derbi Barceloní was still a highlighted fixture.^[78] However, in the 21st century, the teams have experienced opposite fortunes, with Espanyol being dominant while Barcelona struggled and vice versa.^{[citation needed]}

The main rivalry for Barcelona Femení was Atlético Madrid, with the two teams having similar prominence and success within Spain and Europe in the 2010s, as well as having playing styles that contrasted each other.^[36] Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao also shared a rivalry in Spain in the 2000s and early 2010s, seeing large attendances at the San Mamés for their matches; as Barcelona became stronger, such games were often deciders.^{[citation needed]} In the 2012–13 season, Barcelona were at one stage 8 points behind Athletic before winning the league on the last day at San Mamés.^[79] Barcelona, Atlético and Athletic were the first major professional women's teams in Spain, sustaining league rivalries because they were the three largest teams for quite some time. Most other large clubs (i.e. those with historic men's teams) did not incorporate women's sections until 2018 or later, so the other women's teams prior to this were smaller or independent.^[80]

Real Madrid incorporated a women's section in 2020. After their matches that season, Losada dismissed the idea that the teams had a rivalry: "For me, it's not a clásico but on a media level it helps that at last they're in our league. Those who don't follow women's football might think it's a clásico; those that do, know it's not."^[36] Real Madrid improved in the following seasons, and though Barcelona did, too – having always beaten Real Madrid by 2024 – staff and players at Barcelona said that a stronger Real Madrid was important to keep up the competitive status of the league and for the global image of the game, with Caroline Graham Hansen saying "[El Clásico] is a big game, a game the whole world knows and it's important that it reflects the level in the women's game."^[81]

Barcelona also has rivalries in the Champions League, including against Wolfsburg and Lyon, the latter of which were champions in both finals Barcelona lost. After the first lost final, reaching Lyon's level became an aspiration or "obsession" for Barcelona.^[36]

All results (away, home and aggregate) list FC Barcelona's goal tally first.

^f indicates the leg played first.

Season	Round	Opponents	Away	Home	Aggregate	Scorers
2012–13	Round of 32	Arsenal	0–4	0–3 f	0–7
2013–14	Round of 32	Brøndby	2–2	0–0 f	2–2 (a)	Corredera, Čanković
	Round of 16	Zürich	3–1	3–0 f	6–1	Bermúdez (2), Losada, Ruth García, Corredera, Čanković
	Quarter-final	Wolfsburg	0–3 f	0–2	0–5
2014–15	Round of 32	Slavia Prague	1–0 f	3–0	4–0	Ruth Garcia, Putellas, Bermúdez, Romero
	Round of 16	Bristol Academy	1–1	0–1 f	1–2	Losada
2015–16	Round of 32	Kazygurt	1–1 f	4–1	5–2	Ruth Garcia, Hermoso (2), Serrano, Unzué
	Round of 16	Twente	1–0 f	1–0	2–0	Olga García (2)
	Quarter-final	Paris Saint-Germain	0–1	0–0 f	0–1
2016–17	Round of 32	FC Minsk	3–0 f	2–1	5–1	Hermoso (3), Torrejón, Andressa Alves
	Round of 16	Twente	4–0	1–0 f	5–0	Hermoso, Torrejón, Andressa Alves, Latorre, N'Guessan
	Quarter-final	Rosengård	1–0 f	2–0	3–0	Ouahabi, Hermoso, Caldentey
	Semi-final	Paris Saint-Germain	0–2	1–3 f	1–5	Latorre
2017–18	Round of 32	Avaldsnes	4–0 f	2–0	6–0	Martens (2), Duggan, Andressa Alves, Caldentey, Losada
	Round of 16	Gintra Universitetas	6–0 f	3–0	9–0	Bonmatí, Caldentey (2), Duggan (2), Olga García, Andonova, Putellas, Alekperova (og)
	Quarter-final	Olympique Lyon	1–2 f	0–1	1–3	Guijarro
2018–19	Round of 32	Kazygurt	1–3 f	3–0	4–3	Duggan, Guijarro, Torrejón, Martens
	Round of 16	Glasgow City	3–0	5–0 f	8–0[82]	Hamraoui, Bonmatí, Guijarro, Andressa Alves, Mapi León, Duggan (2), Putellas
	Quarter-final	Lillestrøm	1–0	3–0 f	4–0	Duggan (2), Caldentey, Martens
	Semi-final	Bayern Munich	1–0 f	1–0	2–0	Hamraoui, Caldentey
	Final ( Budapest)	Olympique Lyon	1–4			Oshoala
2019–20	Round of 32	Juventus	2–0 f	2–1	4–1	Putellas (2), Torrejón, Van der Gragt
	Round of 16	FC Minsk	3–1	5–0 f	8–1	Oshoala, Torrejón, Bonmatí (2), Hermoso, Putellas, Caldentey, Guijarro
	Quarter-final ( Bilbao)	Atlético Madrid	1–0			Hamraoui
	Semi-final ( San Sebastián)	Wolfsburg	0–1
2020–21	Round of 32	PSV	4–1 f	4–1	8–2	Martens (3), Graham Hansen (2), Hermoso, Oshoala, van den Berg (og)
	Round of 16	Fortuna Hjørring	5–0	4–0 f	9–0	Hermoso (3), Bonmatí (2), Putellas, Caldentey, Oshoala, Torrejón
	Quarter-final	Manchester City	1–2	3–0 f	4–2	Oshoala (2), Caldentey, Hermoso
	Semi-final	Paris Saint-Germain	1–1 f	2–1	3–2	Hermoso, Martens (2)
	Final ( Gothenburg)	Chelsea	4–0			Leupolz (og), Putellas, Bonmatí, Graham Hansen
2021–22	Group stage	Arsenal	4–0	4–1 f	8–1	Caldentey, Putellas, Oshoala, Martens, Bonmatí, Hermoso (2), Rolfö
		Køge	2–0 f	5–0	7–0	Rolfö (2), Hermoso, Ouahabi, Putellas, Engen, Martens
		1899 Hoffenheim	5–0	4–0 f	9–0	Hermoso, Putellas (3), Torrejón (2), Paredes, Bonmatí, Crnogorčević
	Quarter-final	Real Madrid	3–1 f	5–2	8–3	Putellas (3), Pina (2), Mapi León, Bonmatí, Graham Hansen
	Semi-final	VfL Wolfsburg	0–2	5–1 f	5–3	Bonmatí, Graham Hansen, Hermoso, Putellas (2)
	Final ( Turin)	Olympique Lyon	1–3			Putellas
2022–23	Group stage	Benfica	6–2	9–0 f	15–2	Guijarro, Bonmatí (2), Oshoala (2), Caldentey (2), Crnogorčević (2), Geyse (2), Pina (2), Paredes, Seiça (og)
		Rosengård	4–1 f	6–0	10–1	Bonmatí (2), Caldentey (2), Oshoala (2), Mapi León, Rolfö, Torrejón, Paredes
		Bayern Munich	1–3	3–0 f	4–3	Geyse (2), Bonmatí, Pina
	Quarter-final	Roma	1–0 f	5–1	6–1	Paralluelo, Rolfö (2), Mapi León, Oshoala, Guijarro
	Semi-finals	Chelsea	1–0 f	1–1	2–1	Graham Hansen (2)
	Final ( Eindhoven)	VfL Wolfsburg	3–2			Guijarro (2), Rolfö
2023–24	Group stage	Benfica	4–4	5–0 f	9–4	Putellas (2), Bonmatí (2), Oshoala, Graham Hansen, Guijarro, Bronze
		Eintracht Frankfurt	3–1 f	2–0	5–1	Paralluelo (2), Caldentey, Guijarro, Graham Hansen
		Rosengård	6–0 f	7–0	13–0	Wik (og)(2), Paralluelo (3), Guijarro, Bonmatí, Caldentey, Martina, Walsh, Graham Hansen, Pina, Torrejón
	Quarter-final	Brann	2–1 f	3–1	5–2	Graham Hansen, Paralluelo, Bonmatí, Rolfö, Guijarro
	Semi-finals	Chelsea	2–0	0–1 f	2–1	Bonmatí, Rolfö
	Final ( Bilbao)	Olympique Lyon	–

Official

•   Record
• ^S Shared record

Invitational

Others

• Guinness world record for most consecutive victories in all competitions: 45 wins during the 2021–22 season (from 6 June 2021 to 30 April 2022).^[85]

Current squad

As of 31 January 2024^[86]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
13	GK	ESP	Cata Coll
14	MF	ESP	Aitana Bonmatí
15	DF	ENG	Lucy Bronze
16	FW	SWE	Fridolina Rolfö
19	FW	ESP	Bruna Vilamala
21	MF	ENG	Keira Walsh
22	DF	ESP	Ona Batlle
23	MF	NOR	Ingrid Syrstad Engen
24	FW	NED	Esmee Brugts
25	GK	ESP	Gemma Font

From reserve team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
34	DF	ESP	Martina Fernández
36	GK	ESP	Meritxell Muñoz
37	GK	ESP	Meritxell Font
39	MF	ESP	Júlia Bartel
40	FW	ESP	Lucía Corrales

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Current technical staff

Internationals

Transfers

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