Barça women claim 'more support for female sports' during Parliament Gold Medal of Honor ceremony

The FC Barcelona women's team claimed "more support for female sports" during the ceremony of the Catalan Parliament Gold Medal of Honor, as captain Alexia Putellas said during her speech.

"Better installations and more fields" is one of the requests made by the player to authorities during the ceremony. On the first row of the room, the Catalan president, Pere Aragonès, accompanied by members of the cabinet, as well as the Parliament speaker, Anna Erra, and FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

The award arrives on the back of the team winning their second Champions League title in 2022/23. Last season also saw the blaugranes pick up their record 8th league title, which was their 4th in a row.

During the speech, Putellas also addressed the fact that this has been the first time the award was given to a team, which shows "a change of paradigm. It was unthinkable five or ten years ago for a team to get such honor," she added.

However, the footballer also praised their work as a way "to help the ones that will follow."

To make sure that "no more women are despised in or outside the game field. So women do not suffer any more situations of abuse," she said in a reference to the former Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, scandal over Jenni Hermoso kiss during the World Cup final.

"We, as players of the FC Barcelona, are helping to build a more equal society and full of opportunities," Putellas said, and took the opportunity to "thank the pioneers players."

Just before Putellas and the Barça femení team received the award, businesswoman, awarded the Sant Jordi Cross, and named the most influential woman in the technological world in 2020 and 2023, Anna Schlegel, highlighted the "historic moment."

"Never before a whole team had received such an award. You are the first ones," Schlegel said.

The "impact that you make into society makes you exceptional," she continued.

Similarly, the Catalan parliament speaker, Anna Erra, said that FC Barcelona Femení is a referent "of the real social and gender transformation lived."

The parliament has awarded the Medal of Honor annually since 2000 to distinguish people or institutions for their achievements and accomplishments.

To learn more about the historical achievements of Barça Femení and the fight for better conditions and professionalization in women's football as a whole in Spain, check out the episode of our podcast, Filling the Sink, from June 2021, shortly after Barça won their first Champions League title.