Mediapro throws lifeline to Spanish women’s football

Spanish producer and broadcaster Mediapro has offered a lifeline of €1.5 million to Spanish women’s football organisation the Asociación de Clubes Femeninos de Fútbol (ACFF) to avoid a planned strike of players due to take place from November 16.

Mediapro has been in dispute with the ACFF over the latter’s decision to accept an offer by the Spanish football governing body, the Real Federación Española de Fútbol(RFEF) to market the women’s league, the Liga Iberdrola, on a collective basis. Mediapro has in recent times been involved in protracted disputes with the RFEF on multiple fronts.

Mediapro has now said it won’t stand in the way of the women’s game benefiting from the RFEF deal if the ACFF wishes to do so, and will release the organisation from the obligations it entered into with Mediapro previously if the RFEF maintains its offer to the league.

Mediapro pointed out that it had supported the women’s game in Spain when it attracted little interest from other organisaitons.

Mediapro was barred from providing coverage of a match played by the Madrid Club de Fútbol Femenino in September, with its Gol TV production team being prevented from entering the stadium, despite the fact that Mediapro had previously struck an agreement with the Asociación de Clubes de Fútbol Femenino (ACFF) that gavie it rights to the teams matches.

The RFEF effectively took over the marketing of top-tier women’s football in August with the creation of the Primera Iberdrola league of 16 teams, opening the way to conflict over the terms of exploitation of rights to the games.