A football team made up entirely of transgender men has become the first all-trans squad to earn federated status in Europe. The team, Fenix FC, recently made its debut in a regional league in Spain, overcoming significant challenges, including administrative hurdles and prejudice.
Fenix FC, named after the mythical bird symbolizing rebirth, started by playing friendlies and seven-a-side matches last season. This year, they have advanced to compete in the fifth tier of the league in Catalonia, after merging with a local club in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, a suburb of Barcelona. Spain’s new trans rights bill, passed last year, aims to simplify the process of changing one’s legal gender. Yet, discrimination remains a significant issue, with Catalonia recording 302 cases of anti-LGBTQ incidents in 2023, 25% of which targeted transgender people, according to the region’s Observatory Against LGBTphobia.
Hugo Martinez, a 24-year-old player, shared his experience of facing abuse when he started his gender transition and was forced to leave the women’s football team he had been a part of. “I was a boy playing in the girls’ team, but without a changed ID, so I wasn’t yet allowed to play with boys,” he said, recalling the insults and threats he received from other players, coaches, and spectators.
Martinez’s experience led him to reach out online, seeking other trans men who wanted to play football in a supportive environment. It took three years to establish Fenix FC. Team captain Luke Ibanez, 19, said he was initially unsure about playing on a team with cisgender men due to concerns about fitting in or facing hostility. But when Martinez proposed the idea of an all-trans team, Ibanez quickly joined. “Fenix is more than just a team of trans boys. It’s a family, a safe space where you can truly be yourself,” he said.
The Catalan Football Association (FA) stated that its men’s leagues have been open to players of any gender for the past two seasons, allowing individuals to participate regardless of their official gender identity. Players are also permitted to use names that are different from their legal ones, a policy not uniformly applied in other regional FAs or sports.
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