AFE offers assistance for maternity, breastfeeding and childcare expenses

This is one of the great pending issues in football. The need for players to combine professional football with motherhood is not considered in the collective agreement, a section that greatly affects women who have decided to become mothers without having to give up their profession.

It is for this reason that the Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE) wants to hit the table in this matter. To this end, AFE assured that it will propose maternity -related measures to improve General agreement women, such as assistance for nursery expenses and facilitation of lactation spaces and conditions for training during pregnancy and after childbirth.

The union celebrated the day on Tuesday “The challenge of being a mother and a footballer”, organized by the Legal and Affiliate Relations departments, in which athletes and athletes recounted their experiences after becoming mothers, and media representatives to discuss the media’s perspective on motherhood in the sport.

The Secretary General of the AFE, diego rivasindicated that “motherhood has always been a major issue” for the union and stressed that “we need to work so that a soccer player is never put in the position to choose between soccer or motherhood.”

“We must put all means at their disposal, but also accompany them at all times, so that they feel that their goals are shared, that they are never alone when they have to adapt their role as mother to theirs. profession on the pitch., “he added.

The co-director of the Legal Department, Maria Jose Lopez, She reviewed issues the union would raise to improve the Collective Agreement such as assistance for child care costs and establish mechanisms to facilitate breastfeeding with spaces enabled for it, both in training and travel.

Also have optimal conditions for training during pregnancy and months after childbirth or medical support and physiotherapy so that the pregnant soccer player has the best way to regain perfect physical condition, the AFE reported.

“The female athlete is a worker and should be treated as such. There should not be any kind of discrimination due to motherhood. The female athlete should not wait until she retires to become a mother and the Collective Agreement defends this issue. for his benefit. We must strengthen sports law at the labor level, “he said.

The player Ayano Dozono (Real Unión de Tenerife Tacuense) recalled that the club renewed her contract for a year when she was pregnant and she returned to play in the sixth month after giving birth, “although the period of physical recovery was quite complicated ”, and is now retired. Elena Pavel She said that “in the situation that exists today, I will be a mother at 26 or 27 years old and I will continue to play.”

“During my time as a player, I didn’t know any colleagues who got pregnant or considered. It was unfeasible because you know that when that happens, they won’t renew your contract. I know someone who needs to retire because they are mothers. ., without any kind of help. Now, recently, some players have become mothers, something that is important for future generations, “said the AFE women’s soccer coordinator, Christina Vega.

Paddle tennis player Ana Laura Grandes reported that she had to leave the professional circuit as a mother. “They allowed me to travel with the woman, but I couldn’t sleep with her because, as they told me, it could set a precedent. There is no family conciliation law in sports, as they argue,” he said.