Barcelona Femení have requested an extension from FIFA to comply with new regulations requiring female representation within coaching and medical staff at FIFA-sanctioned women’s competitions. The request comes ahead of the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup in January, with Barcelona currently unable to meet the requirement for a female head coach or assistant coach under manager Pere Romeu, despite having women within its medical team.
Introduced in March, FIFA’s regulations require teams to have at least two female staff members on the bench, including at least one female head coach or assistant coach, as well as a female member of the medical staff. The rules aim to address the underrepresentation of women in senior coaching positions. Still, Barcelona’s failure to comply raises questions about the recruitment process at one of the most successful and highly regarded clubs in women’s football. If a club of Barcelona’s stature cannot meet these requirements, what example does that set for the wider game?
Barcelona’s explanation that it has yet to find a suitable candidate, seven months after the regulations were introduced, has also prompted debate about the practical challenges of implementing such policies. Critics argue that imposing quotas without first addressing the shortage of qualified female coaches risks overlooking the structural barriers women face, including the cost of coaching qualifications, limited development pathways and restricted access to senior positions. With the Women’s Champions Cup approaching, questions remain over whether FIFA has given clubs sufficient time and support to comply. While quotas can create opportunities, lasting change will also require investment in coaching education and career development to ensure qualified women can progress into senior roles across the game.
Catalan broadcasters reported that former Badalona Women coach Ana Junyent, who holds a UEFA Pro licence and is therefore qualified for the role as assistant coach, contacted the club in June to offer herself fo the role and was told the position was already covered. But the club's statement said they had not found anyone qualified, even though Junyent is qualified on paper. This raises questions about the recruitment process, what Barcelona considers a suitable candidate, and how much thought and effort has gone into recruiting for this role altogether. If they do not get the extension approved or complete recruitment to uphold the rules, they will be unable to take part.
This is not the first time concerns have been raised about the investment and interest the club has had in the women's teams. In recent seasons, they have continued to lose numerous established internationals and promising players, including Mariona Caldentey, Lucy Bronze, Sandra Paños, Keira Walsh, Fridolina Rolfö, Ingrid Engen, Jana Fernández, Lucía Corrales, Alexia Putellas, Mapi León, Ona Batlle and Salma Paralluelo. These players most likely left to earn more money, and Barcelona's poor financial standing meant they couldn't offer more. Their circumstances varied, but the overall effect has been a significant loss of experience, quality and squad depth. Last summer, seven players left the European Champions while only one new signing arrived in Kerolin. This is because of the club's financial restructuring due to the redevelopment of Camp Nou, and the men's team's financial fair-play difficulties have hampered the women's side's recruitment.
This is not simply about losing players. It is about whether Barcelona can sustain the standards expected of a club that has won major domestic and European honours. Success on the pitch should provide a foundation for retaining leading players, strengthening the squad and investing in the next generation. Instead, repeated departures have raised concerns that the team is becoming too dependent on academy graduates and a small group of senior players.
This is more of a surprise given the side generated €28.8 million in revenue in 2025–26 and recorded a profit of approximately €8.5 million. Revenue grew by 33%, while spending on player and staff salaries rose to €15.2 million. The report also identified match-day and broadcasting income as key growth areas. But the investment and player recruitment decreased again.
These figures do not mean Barcelona can ignore the wider financial pressures facing the club. Nor do they prove that every departing player could or wanted to be retained. But they do make it reasonable to ask how the women’s team’s growing commercial success is being reinvested in the women's team or used to pay off the men's side debt.
The women's team is playing more games at Camp Nou since it reopened last April after partial renovations, and they are already contributing to match-day income, but having the biggest matches at the biggest stadiums only works if there are players people want to see play.
If Barcelona Femení is generating growing revenues, winning trophies and attracting crowds to Camp Nou, supporters are entitled to ask whether the club is doing enough to protect the team’s future. The issue is not whether Barcelona should spend without limits. It is whether its investment strategy matches the ambitions and commercial success of its women’s team or whether the club risks weakening the very side that has helped establish Barcelona as a global force in women’s football.
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