A football team composed entirely of transgender men has commenced playing in a regional league in Spain, according to a recent Reuters report. The squad, known as Fenix FC, officially participated in the men’s fifth division in the Spanish region of Catalonia after being incorporated into a local club located in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, a suburb of Barcelona. This development makes the Catalan side the very first all-trans team to join a football federation in Europe, according to the agency’s article published on Saturday.
Fenix FC, named after the mythical phoenix, played its initial game in the league on September 21 and unfortunately lost with a score of 19-0. The founder of Fenix FC, Hugo Martinez, shared that he decided to establish an all-trans squad after being asked to leave the women’s team following his transitioning into a man through hormone therapy.
The team’s captain, Luke Ibanez, mentioned that he joined the club due to concerns about not being accepted and possibly even facing violence on a men’s team. Fenix is a team of trans boys created entirely by trans boys, but I think it’s more than that – a family, a safe space where you can be free and express yourself however you want and how you really feel,” he added.
In late 2022, Spain enacted legislation permitting citizens to change their legal gender without the necessity of psychological or other medical evaluations. The Catalan Football Federation informed Reuters that its men’s leagues have been mixed for the past two seasons, allowing people of any gender to participate. Additionally, players can compete under a name that differs from their legal name.