Transgender football team beaten 19-0 in debut game

A football team consisting entirely of transgender men has begun playing in a regional league in Spain, Reuters has reported.

The squad, called Fenix FC, has officially competed in the men’s fifth division in the Spanish region of Catalonia after being incorporated into a local club in the Barcelona suburb of Sant Feliu de Llobregat, the agency said in an article on Saturday.

This makes the Catalan side the first ever all-trans team to join a football federation in Europe, it added.

Fenix FC – named after the mythical phoenix – played its first game in the league on September 21 and lost 19-0.

The founder of Fenix FC, Hugo Martinez, told Reuters that he decided to set up an all-trans squad after being asked to leave the women’s team after he began transitioning to a man through hormone therapy.

The team’s captain, Luke Ibanez, said he joined the club because he feared that he would not be accepted and could even suffer 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,” Ibanez added.

In late 2022, Spain passed legislation that allows citizens to change their legal gender without the need for psychological or other medical evaluation.

The Catalan Football Federation told Reuters that its men’s leagues have been mixed for the past two seasons, with people of any gender able to take part. The players can also compete under a name that differs from their legal name, it added.