FC Barcelona Femení facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Barcelona

Full name	Futbol Club Barcelona
Nickname(s)	Barça Femení, Blaugrana, El Femení (team) Culers, Barcelonistes, Blaugranes, Azulgranas (supporters)
Founded	1970; 55 years ago (1970) as Selecció Ciutat de Barcelona Template:Start date and age and age as Penya Femenina Barcelona 1983; 42 years ago (1983) as Club Femení Barcelona 2002; 23 years ago (2002) as Futbol Club Barcelona
Ground	Estadi Johan Cruyff Camp Nou (selected matches)
Ground Capacity	6,000
President	Joan Laporta
Head coach	Pere Romeu
League	Liga F
2024–25	Liga F, 1st of 16 (champions)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Futbol Club Barcelona Femení, often called Barça Femení, is a professional women's football team from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the women's part of FC Barcelona. The team plays in Liga F, which is the top women's football league in Spain. Their home games are usually at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, but sometimes they play at the bigger Camp Nou.

The club started in 1970. At first, it was not an official part of FC Barcelona. It was known by different names like Selecció Ciutat de Barcelona and Peña Femenina Barcelonista. In 1983, it became Club Femení Barcelona. Finally, in 2002, it officially joined FC Barcelona and became Futbol Club Barcelona Femení.

Barça Femení is the most successful women's team in Spain. They have won ten league titles, eleven Copas de la Reina, and four Supercopas. They also won the second-tier league four times.

Since 2015, when the team became professional, Barcelona has become a top team in Europe. They won the UEFA Women's Champions League in 2021, 2023, and 2024. When they won their first Champions League title, they became the first Spanish women's team to win a continental treble (winning their league, national cup, and Champions League in one season). With their third Champions League win, they became the first Spanish women's team to win four trophies in one season (a continental quadruple).

Team History

How Barça Femení Started

Women's football in Spain became popular in the 1960s, even though it was not official. The first version of Barcelona Femení was called Selecció Ciutat de Barcelona. It formed in November 1970. This team was created to keep playing games, unlike earlier teams made just for one match.

The Selecció Barcelona played its first game on Christmas Day in 1970. They won against Unió Esportiva Centelles in front of about 60,000 fans. Even though they weren't officially part of FC Barcelona yet, this was the first women's team linked to the club. In 1971, the team changed its name to Penya Femenina Barça. They became very popular and played more games at the Camp Nou. They started wearing the club's famous blaugrana (blue and red) colors in 1971. They finished second in Catalonia's first cup in 1971 and won the Catalonia-based league in 1973.

By 1975, women's football in Spain was not as strong. In 1977, the team even had to ask for new players. But Barcelona was one of the big teams that kept playing. They even played against teams from other countries. A Catalan women's league started again in the 1978–79 season.

Becoming Official and Rising Up

In 1980, the Spanish Football Federation officially recognized women's football. In 1981, the Catalan Football Federation created the Women's Catalan Football League. Barcelona was one of the first teams in this league. In 1983, the team changed its name to Club Femení Barcelona. This was to be closer to the men's team's name.

In the 1980s, another team called Barcilona was very successful. They were formed by former Barcelona players. Barcelona and Barcilona were the top teams in Catalan women's football. Barcelona won its first official trophy, the Copa Generalitat, in 1985.

FC Barcelona's support for the women's team changed over time. In 1983, the women's team didn't have a regular training place. But by 1984, FC Barcelona started showing more interest. They offered their stadiums, including the Camp Nou, for the women's team. Since 1985, the team played most home games at the Mini Estadi.

National League and Becoming Professional

In 1988, Club Femení Barcelona helped start the Liga Nacional. This was Spain's first top national women's league. The team's performance was not always the same. They were a mid-table team. But in the early 1990s, they had a good run. They finished in the top three between 1992 and 1994. They also won the Copa de la Reina in 1994. Even when they didn't play as well later, they always stayed in the top division.

In 2000, the women's team became part of the FC Barcelona Foundation. This made them part of the club's official structure. In 2001, the league changed its name to Superliga Femenina. Barcelona couldn't join the top division because of a fee. So, they played in the second division. In 2002, the FC Barcelona board officially made CF Barcelona an official section. The team was renamed Futbol Club Barcelona Femení. The next year, they became "professional," but the players still needed other jobs.

Barcelona won their second division group in 2002, 2003, and 2004. They were promoted to the Superliga Femenina in 2004. In 2006, Xavi Llorens became the manager. But in 2007, the team was relegated. The club even thought about closing the women's section.

Return to the Top and First Golden Era

Barcelona celebrating their 2011 Copa Catalunya win

Barcelona returned to the Superliga in 2008. From 2009 to 2011, they became a top team in the league. In 2011, they won their second Copa de la Reina. They beat their local rivals Espanyol 1–0 in the final. In 2012, they won their first league title. They earned a record 94 points. This also meant they qualified for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time.

They won the league again in 2013. They beat Athletic Bilbao on the last day of the season. Then, they won the 2013 Copa de la Reina. This made them the fifth Spanish women's team to win both the league and the cup in the same season.

In the 2013–14 season, Barcelona reached the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time. They also won their third straight league title. Between 2011 and 2014, Barcelona had amazing winning and unbeaten streaks. By 2014, the club called these years a "Golden Era." The team even got its own section in the Barça Museum. In the 2014–15 season, they became the first Spanish women's team to win four league titles in a row.

Becoming Fully Professional and New Rivals

In 2015, the club decided to make the women's team fully professional. This meant players could earn enough to live on. The team needed to be professional to compete with other top European teams in the Champions League. A sponsorship deal with Stanley Tools in 2014 helped them become professional.

When they became professional, the team went through some changes. It was a big adjustment at first. Barcelona started focusing more on winning the Champions League. They reached their first Champions League semifinal in the 2016–17 season.

During this time, Atlético Madrid Femenino became a strong rival. Atlético played a different style of football than Barcelona. This created a big rivalry between the two teams. Atlético won three league titles between 2017 and 2019, with Barcelona finishing second each time.

In 2017, Barcelona beat Atlético in the Copa de la Reina final. This was Xavi Llorens' last game as coach. After him, Fran Sánchez became manager. The team started signing more big international players like Toni Duggan and Lieke Martens. In 2018, Barcelona Femení went on a pre-season tour with the men's team for the first time. This helped promote women's football and equality.

The New Dynasty of European Football

On March 17, 2019, Barcelona played Atlético at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium. This game set a new world record for attendance at a women's club football match, with 60,739 fans. Later that season, Barcelona reached their first Champions League final. They lost 1–4 to Olympique Lyonnais Féminin (Lyon), who had won the title five times.

After the 2019 final, Lluís Cortés became the new coach. Barcelona decided to focus more on developing young players from their own academy. They only signed outside players who fit the team's special style of play. This approach helped them build a strong and united team. Since 2019, Barcelona Femení has become a dominant force in European football. Their success is now a big part of FC Barcelona's identity.

Since 2020, Barcelona has won the league and reached the Champions League final every season. They also win at least one of the Copa de la Reina or Supercopa each year.

They won their first Champions League title in 2021, beating Chelsea 4–0 in the final. Even when Cortés left a month later, the team continued to be successful. Their 2021–22 season was one of the most dominant in football history. They didn't win the Champions League that season, but they won it again in 2023 and 2024. In 2024, they won their first continental quadruple. They beat Lyon 2–0 in the 2024 Champions League final. This was their third Champions League title in four years. It was also their first time beating their rivals Lyon in a final.

The official record attendance for a women's football match was set at Camp Nou on 22 April 2022, with 91,648 people watching Barcelona defeat Wolfsburg 5–1 (pictured).

During this time, Barcelona players also won many individual awards. Captain Alexia Putellas won all major individual awards for two seasons (2020–21 and 2021–22). Then, Aitana Bonmatí won all individual titles for the 2022–23 season. She had one of the most successful seasons of any footballer, male or female.

The team also set new attendance records. They twice set the highest-ever attendance for a women's football match at the Camp Nou. They had 91,553 fans for a game against Real Madrid and 91,648 for a game against Wolfsburg. They also broke the world record for a transfer fee in women's football. They signed Keira Walsh from Manchester City in 2022.

Barcelona's dominance in Spain also grew. They beat their main rivals Atlético 7–0 in the 2021–22 Supercopa final. That season, they won the league very early, by March. Real Madrid started their women's team in 2020 to challenge Barcelona. But Barcelona has won every match against Real Madrid as of 2024.

Fan Support and Popularity

Barcelona Femení supporters at Plaça Sant Jaume in 2023

Barcelona Femení has a growing fan base. This fan base is different from the men's team. The team's popularity has grown a lot since it became professional. This growth is partly linked to the rise of feminism in the 2010s.

The audience for Barcelona Femení includes women and men of all ages. Many fans are people who enjoy the women's team's style of play. The team has worked hard to get more regular supporters to attend matches. They knew that just winning wasn't enough.

The team moved to the Johan Cruyff Stadium in 2019. This stadium is outside the city of Barcelona. Even so, by 2022, the team had four times more fans at their games than when they played at the Mini Estadi. This was because the club started treating the women's players the same as the men's in advertising and merchandise. The number of fans who travel to away games also grew.

In 2022, the fans at Barcelona Femení games were more varied than at the men's games. This might be because the women's team didn't offer season tickets. Most tickets for women's games were bought in packs of four.

Team Rivalries

Barcelona Femení's first rivalry was against local team Espanyol. They played their first matches against them in 1971. But over time, Barcelona and Espanyol had different levels of success.

The main rivalry for Barcelona Femení became Atlético Madrid. Both teams were very successful in Spain and Europe in the 2010s. They also had different playing styles. Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao also had a rivalry in the 2000s and early 2010s. Many fans came to watch their games. Barcelona, Atlético, and Athletic were the first big professional women's teams in Spain. They had strong rivalries because they were the top three teams for a long time.

Real Madrid started a women's team in 2020. They wanted to challenge Barcelona's dominance in Spain. But as of 2024, Barcelona has won every match against Real Madrid. Even so, players and staff at Barcelona say that a stronger Real Madrid is important for the league and for women's football around the world.

Barcelona also has rivalries in the Champions League. These include games against Wolfsburg and Lyon. Lyon was the team that beat Barcelona in their first two Champions League finals. Reaching Lyon's level became a big goal for Barcelona. Lyon was called Barcelona's bestia negra (meaning "nemesis") before Barcelona finally beat them for the first time in 2024.

Season Performance

UEFA Women's Champions League Record

Competition	Games Played	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals For	Goals Against	Goal Difference	Top Scorer(s)	Goals
UEFA Women's Champions League	100	72	8	20	268	81	+187	Aitana Bonmatí	26

All results (away, home and total) list FC Barcelona's goals first.

^f means the first game played.

Season	Round	Opponents	Away	Home	Total Score	Scorers
2012–13	Round of 32	Arsenal	0–4	0–3 f	0–7
2013–14	Round of 32	Brøndby	2–2	0–0 f	2–2 (away goals)	Corredera, Čanković
	Round of 16	Zürich	3–1	3–0 f	6–1	Bermúdez (2), Losada, Ruth García, Corredera, Čanković
	Quarter-final	Wolfsburg	0–3 f	0–2	0–5
2014–15	Round of 32	Slavia Prague	1–0 f	3–0	4–0	Ruth Garcia, Putellas, Bermúdez, Romero
	Round of 16	Bristol Academy	1–1	0–1 f	1–2	Losada
2015–16	Round of 32	Kazygurt	1–1 f	4–1	5–2	Ruth Garcia, Hermoso (2), Serrano, Unzué
	Round of 16	Twente	1–0 f	1–0	2–0	Olga García (2)
	Quarter-final	Paris Saint-Germain	0–1	0–0 f	0–1
2016–17	Round of 32	FC Minsk	3–0 f	2–1	5–1	Hermoso (3), Torrejón, Andressa Alves
	Round of 16	Twente	4–0	1–0 f	5–0	Hermoso, Torrejón, Andressa Alves, Latorre, N'Guessan
	Quarter-final	Rosengård	1–0 f	2–0	3–0	Ouahabi, Hermoso, Caldentey
	Semi-final	Paris Saint-Germain	0–2	1–3 f	1–5	Latorre
2017–18	Round of 32	Avaldsnes	4–0 f	2–0	6–0	Martens (2), Duggan, Andressa Alves, Caldentey, Losada
	Round of 16	Gintra Universitetas	6–0 f	3–0	9–0	Bonmatí, Caldentey (2), Duggan (2), Olga García, Andonova, Putellas, Alekperova (own goal)
	Quarter-final	Olympique Lyon	1–2 f	0–1	1–3	Guijarro
2018–19	Round of 32	Kazygurt	1–3 f	3–0	4–3	Duggan, Guijarro, Torrejón, Martens
	Round of 16	Glasgow City	3–0	5–0 f	8–0	Hamraoui, Bonmatí, Guijarro, Andressa Alves, Mapi León, Duggan (2), Putellas
	Quarter-final	Lillestrøm	1–0	3–0 f	4–0	Duggan (2), Caldentey, Martens
	Semi-final	Bayern Munich	1–0 f	1–0	2–0	Hamraoui, Caldentey
	Final ( Budapest)	Olympique Lyon	1–4			Oshoala
2019–20	Round of 32	Juventus	2–0 f	2–1	4–1	Putellas (2), Torrejón, Van der Gragt
	Round of 16	FC Minsk	3–1	5–0 f	8–1	Oshoala, Torrejón, Bonmatí (2), Hermoso, Putellas, Caldentey, Guijarro
	Quarter-final ( Bilbao)	Atlético Madrid	1–0			Hamraoui
	Semi-final ( San Sebastián)	Wolfsburg	0–1
2020–21	Round of 32	PSV	4–1 f	4–1	8–2	Martens (3), Graham Hansen (2), Hermoso, Oshoala, van den Berg (own goal)
	Round of 16	Fortuna Hjørring	5–0	4–0 f	9–0	Hermoso (3), Bonmatí (2), Putellas, Caldentey, Oshoala, Torrejón
	Quarter-final	Manchester City	1–2	3–0 f	4–2	Oshoala (2), Caldentey, Hermoso
	Semi-final	Paris Saint-Germain	1–1 f	2–1	3–2	Hermoso, Martens (2)
	Final ( Gothenburg)	Chelsea	4–0			Leupolz (own goal), Putellas, Bonmatí, Graham Hansen
2021–22	Group stage	Arsenal	4–0	4–1 f	8–1	Caldentey, Putellas, Oshoala, Martens, Bonmatí, Hermoso (2), Rolfö
		Køge	2–0 f	5–0	7–0	Rolfö (2), Hermoso, Ouahabi, Putellas, Engen, Martens
		1899 Hoffenheim	5–0	4–0 f	9–0	Hermoso, Putellas (3), Torrejón (2), Paredes, Bonmatí, Crnogorčević
	Quarter-final	Real Madrid	3–1 f	5–2	8–3	Putellas (3), Pina (2), Mapi León, Bonmatí, Graham Hansen
	Semi-final	Wolfsburg	0–2	5–1 f	5–3	Bonmatí, Graham Hansen, Hermoso, Putellas (2)
	Final ( Turin)	Olympique Lyon	1–3			Putellas
2022–23	Group stage	Benfica	6–2	9–0 f	15–2	Guijarro, Bonmatí (2), Oshoala (2), Caldentey (2), Crnogorčević (2), Geyse (2), Pina (2), Paredes, Seiça (own goal)
		Rosengård	4–1 f	6–0	10–1	Bonmatí (2), Caldentey (2), Oshoala (2), Mapi León, Rolfö, Torrejón, Paredes
		Bayern Munich	1–3	3–0 f	4–3	Geyse (2), Bonmatí, Pina
	Quarter-final	Roma	1–0 f	5–1	6–1	Paralluelo, Rolfö (2), Mapi León, Oshoala, Guijarro
	Semi-finals	Chelsea	1–0 f	1–1	2–1	Graham Hansen (2)
	Final ( Eindhoven)	Wolfsburg	3–2			Guijarro (2), Rolfö
2023–24	Group stage	Benfica	4–4	5–0 f	9–4	Putellas (2), Bonmatí (2), Oshoala, Graham Hansen, Guijarro, Bronze
		Eintracht Frankfurt	3–1 f	2–0	5–1	Paralluelo (2), Caldentey, Guijarro, Graham Hansen
		Rosengård	6–0 f	7–0	13–0	Wik (own goal)(2), Paralluelo (3), Guijarro, Bonmatí, Caldentey, Martina, Walsh, Graham Hansen, Pina, Torrejón
	Quarter-final	Brann	2–1 f	3–1	5–2	Graham Hansen, Paralluelo, Bonmatí, Rolfö, Guijarro
	Semi-finals	Chelsea	2–0	0–1 f	2–1	Bonmatí, Rolfö
	Final ( Bilbao)	Olympique Lyon	2–0			Bonmatí, Putellas
2024–25	Group stage	Manchester City	0–2 f	3–0	3–2	Pina, Bonmatí, Putellas
		Hammarby	3–0	9–0 f	12–0	Graham Hansen (2), Pina (2), Putellas, Mapi León, Pajor (3), Brugts, Rolfö, Bonmatí
		St. Pölten	4–1	7–0 f	11–1	Pajor, Nazareth (3), Bonmatí, Walsh, Pina (2), Graham Hansen, López, Putellas
	Quarter-final	Wolfsburg	4–1 f	6–1	10–2	Dijkstra (own goal), Paredes, Paralluelo (3), Schertenleib, Brugts, Pina (2), Mapi León
	Semi-finals	Chelsea	4–1	4–1 f	8–2	Pajor (2), Pina (3), Paredes, Bonmatí, Paralluelo
	Final ( Lisbon)	Arsenal	0–1

Team Trophies

Official Titles

•      Record
• ^S Shared record

Other Awards

Team Records

• Bold means the record is still held by the team.
• Highest unofficial attendance at a women's football match: 60,000 (December 25, 1970; Barcelona vs. UE Centelles, Camp Nou)
• Highest salary for a female footballer:
  • €250,000 (2017–2018; Lieke Martens)
  • €700,000 (2024; Alexia Putellas)
  • €1 million (2024; Aitana Bonmatí)
• Highest attendance at a women's football domestic league match:
  • 26,000 (May 5, 2013; Athletic Club vs. Barcelona, San Mamés Stadium)
  • 60,739 (March 17, 2019; Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona, Metropolitano Stadium)
• Most consecutive victories in all competitions: 45 wins (from June 6, 2021, to April 22, 2022, including the 2021–22 season)
• Most consecutive victories in league competition: 62 wins (from June 6, 2021, to May 6, 2023, including the 2021–22 season)
• Highest official attendance at a women's football match:
  • 91,553 (March 30, 2022; Barcelona vs Real Madrid, Camp Nou)
  • 91,648 (April 22, 2022; Barcelona vs Wolfsburg, Camp Nou)
• Most expensive transfer of a women's footballer: €470,000 (September 7, 2022; Keira Walsh, Manchester City to Barcelona)
• Largest group of traveling fans for a women's football match: 40,000 (May 25, 2024; Barcelona vs. Lyon, San Mamés Stadium)

Team Players

Current Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Gemma Font 2 DF Irene Paredes (4th captain) 4 DF Mapi León 5 DF Jana Fernández 7 FW Salma Paralluelo 8 DF Marta Torrejón (vice-captain) 9 FW Clàudia Pina 10 FW Caroline Graham Hansen 11 MF Alexia Putellas (captain) 12 MF Patricia Guijarro (3rd captain) 13 GK Cata Coll

No. Position Player 14 MF Aitana Bonmatí 17 FW Ewa Pajor 18 FW Kika Nazareth 19 MF Vicky López 22 DF Ona Batlle 24 FW Esmee Brugts GK Txell Font DF Laia Aleixandri DF Lucía Corrales MF Giulia Dragoni FW Sydney Schertenleib

From Reserve Team

No. Position Player 28 MF Alba Caño 34 MF Clara Serrajordi 38 MF Emilia Szymczak

Players on Loan

No. Position Player – MF Weronika Araśniewicz (at VfL Wolfsburg until June 30, 2026)

Current Coaches and Staff

Team Managers

See also

In Spanish: Fútbol Club Barcelona (femenino) para niños