WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Spain’s soccer chief apologises for World Cup kiss
Summary
- Federation chief kissed player on lips during medal hand-out
- Hermoso heard on video saying she ‘didn’t like it’
- Both player and president later downplayed incident
The Spanish soccer federation chief apologised on Monday after an unsolicited kiss on player Jenni Hermoso’s lips during celebrations of the country’s Women’s World Cup victory sparked outrage, with Spain’s second deputy prime minister calling for his resignation.
The incident happened as federation president Luis Rubiales handed the Spanish team gold medals after they beat England 1-0 in the final on Sunday.
“Surely I was wrong, I have to admit,” Rubiales said in a video statement sent by the federation. “It was without bad faith at a time of maximum effusiveness.”
As the team landed in Madrid on Monday night after their victory in Australia, Rubiales declined to reply to a question about the incident, telling Reuters: “It is time to enjoy and celebrate. We have won a world cup”.
After the kiss, Hermoso told teammates in the locker room that she “didn’t like it,” according to video footage posted on Instagram and YouTube by El Mundo newspaper and other media outlets.
She later downplayed the incident in a statement sent to Spanish news agency EFE by the federation.
“It was a mutual gesture that was totally spontaneous prompted by the huge joy of winning a World Cup,” the statement said. “The ‘presi’ and I have a great relationship, his behaviour with all of us has always been 10 (out of 10) and this was a natural gesture of affection and gratitude.”
Post-game video footage also depicts Rubiales kissing other players on the cheek or embracing them when handing out the medals.
Standing besides Spain’s Queen Letizia and one of her teenage daughters on the stadium’s seats, Rubiales enthusiastically celebrated the victory, including by grabbing his crotch while pointing to the field.
Gender issues are a powerful topic in Spain. The Socialist-led government has presided over a raft of legal reforms around gender change, abortion and sex work, but a loophole in its law around sexual consent let rapists out of jail, resulting in a significant electoral loss by far-left Podemos party, in the government coalition, in July’s election.
Asked again about the incident on Spain’s COPE Radio station, Hermoso said: “I wish they created (controversy) involving someone else, I’m a world champion and that’s what matters.”
‘UNACCEPTABLE’
Several government ministers and media commentators criticised the gesture.
Acting Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz, whose Sumar political platform includes Podemos, called for Rubiales’ resignation because “without any doubt (he) attacked a woman”, arguing that “his excuses do not work at all”.
Acting Culture and Sports Minister Miquel Iceta said on RNE radio the kiss was “unacceptable” and asked Rubiales to provide an explanation and to apologise.
A non-consensual kiss is “a kind of sex violence all women suffer daily, which was until now invisible, and which we cannot normalise”, acting Gender Equality Minister Irene Montero said on social messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
An opinion column in Spain’s top-selling El Pais newspaper on Monday morning was titled: “Jenni didn’t like the kiss and we didn’t either” – describing it as “an intrusion, an invasion of privacy, an aggression”.
Rubiales had initially minimized the outrage, calling critics “idiots”.
“The kiss with Jenni? There are idiots everywhere. When two people have a moment of affection that means nothing more, you can’t listen to idiocy. We are the champions, that’s it,” he said, according to Radio Marca.
But in his apology later on Monday, Rubiales included those who called him out.
“I also want to apologize to these persons,” he said.
-Reuters
Nigeria’s Falconets will discover their opponents for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup when the official draw is conducted in Łódź, Poland, on May 15, as preparations intensify for another campaign on the global stage.
The draw ceremony, confirmed by football’s world governing body, FIFA, will take place in one of the tournament’s host cities and will be broadcast live worldwide on FIFA+, YouTube and TikTok.
Nigeria, one of the most successful nations in the history of the competition, heads into the draw with renewed ambition after securing qualification for the tournament, which will run from September 5 to 27 across the Polish cities of Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Łódź and Sosnowiec.
The Falconets remain one of Africa’s strongest representatives at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, having reached the final twice in the competition’s history. The Nigerian side will now await the outcome of the draw to know their group-stage opponents among the 24 qualified teams expected to battle for the title.
Former Polish international and current women’s national team coach Nina Patalon and French football legend Laura Georges will participate in the ceremony, underscoring the growing profile of women’s football globally.
Speaking ahead of the event, Patalon described the draw as a defining moment for both participating teams and supporters.
“The draw always brings a special sense of excitement, as it is the moment when the competition truly starts to feel real for both the teams and the fans,” she said.
She also highlighted the importance of hosting the tournament in Poland, noting that it could inspire more young girls to embrace football and further accelerate the development of the women’s game in the country.
The 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is expected to showcase some of the brightest emerging talents in women’s football, with Nigeria’s Falconets aiming to make another strong impression on the world stage
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Alongside the USA and Brazil, Nigeria will head to Poland as one of only three nations to have appeared at every edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
As of Saturday night, only Nigeria and Nigeria women’s national under-20 football team and Ghana women’s national under-20 football team have secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland after overcoming Malawi and Uganda, respectively, in the final round of African qualifiers.
Nigeria maintained their remarkable record of appearing at every edition of the global tournament, joining the United States and Brazil as the only nations to achieve the feat.
The Falconets were pushed to the limit by Malawi in Lilongwe after carrying a 2-0 advantage from the first leg in Ikenne. Malawi made a dream start when Faith Chinzimu scored from a set-piece in the eighth minute to ignite hopes of a comeback.
Nigeria struggled to reproduce the dominance they displayed at home, and the tie swung dramatically in the hosts’ favour in the 57th minute when Chinzimu completed her brace after breaking down the left flank before calmly finishing past the Nigerian goalkeeper.
At 2-0 on the day, the aggregate score was level, and the Falconets were suddenly under severe pressure. However, Malawi captain Leticia Chinyamula made a costly error that allowed substitute Oscar Precious to seize possession, drive into the penalty area and fire home the decisive goal for Nigeria.
The strike restored Nigeria’s aggregate lead and effectively ended Malawi’s hopes, as the Falconets held on to secure passage to Poland despite the 2-1 defeat on the day.
Coach Moses Aduku’s side will now prepare for another appearance at the world finals, where Nigeria remain one of the competition’s most consistent teams.
Ghana also survived a tense encounter to qualify for their eighth consecutive FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
The Black Princesses travelled to Kampala holding a narrow 2-1 first-leg advantage over Uganda. Still, the hosts drew level on aggregate through a moment of brilliance from Sylvia Kabene, whose powerful strike from the left wing flew into the top corner beyond goalkeeper Belinda Maku.
Combined with Agnes Nabukenya’s away goal in the first leg, Uganda briefly looked set to progress.
But Ghana responded strongly after the break despite being reduced to 10 players. Captain Linda Owusu Ansah proved the hero, curling a superb set-piece from near the corner flag directly into the far top corner to send the Black Princesses through.
While Nigeria will continue their ever-present run at the tournament, Ghana will be hoping to advance beyond the group stage for the first time in their history when the competition kicks off in September.
The remaining African qualification spots will be decided on Sunday when Tanzania face Cameroon, and Benin take on Côte d’Ivoire in the final return-leg matches.
The FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Poland 2026 will take place from September 5 to 27 across four host cities
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Nigeria’s U-20 girls, the Falconets, are on the verge of extending their remarkable record of appearing at every edition of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup since the competition began in 2002.
The Falconets will face Malawi on Saturday at the Bingu National Stadium in the second leg of the final qualifying round for the Poland 2026 tournament, carrying a 2-0 advantage from the first leg played in Ikenne-Remo last weekend.
Nigeria have featured at every edition of the competition, beginning with the inaugural tournament in Canada in 2002 when it was still a U-19 championship. The Falconets also competed in Thailand 2004 before the tournament was upgraded to the U-20 level ahead of the 2006 finals in Russia.
Since then, the Nigerian girls have remained ever-present at the global championship, appearing in Chile 2008, Germany 2010, Japan 2012, Canada 2014, Papua New Guinea 2016, France 2018, Costa Rica 2022 and Colombia 2024.
The Falconets’ best performances came when they finished runners-up at Germany 2010 and Canada 2014, while they reached the semi-finals in Japan 2012.
Head coach Moses Aduku expressed confidence ahead of Saturday’s decisive clash.
“We are here to play and to win. The players understand the importance of this match, and we are fully prepared mentally, tactically, and physically for the challenge ahead,” Aduku said during Friday’s pre-match press conference.
Nigeria swept past Rwanda and Senegal in earlier qualifying rounds and are now aiming to complete the job against Malawi to seal another World Cup appearance.
Kick-off for Saturday’s encounter is scheduled for 3:00 pm Malawi time (2:00 pm Nigeria time).
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