After over a year of negotiations between clubs and player associations, Spanish women’s football is reaching a tipping point in its players’ fight for updated contracts.

It took 14 months 16 days, 29 meetings and a strike before a pre-agreement could be reached on Friday.

The pre-agreement follows an unprecedented strike voted for by 93% of members of the players association and adhered to by nearly all players from 16 clubs.

The strike came as players across the league stood together to push for a collective bargaining agreement that would provide them with more protection as professionals.

Therefore, it would mark a huge moment in Spanish domestic football and perhaps set a precedent for other women’s football leagues if the current pre-agreement is eventually signed.

Up until Friday, negotiations had reached agreement on these principles:

A New Minimum Wage
New minimum wages will be set for fulltime players to €16,000 and for part-time players to €12,000. The increase is set to affect up to 40% of the league's players.

Maternity Allowances
Players who terminate their contract due to pregnancy will be given the opportunity to renew their contract for another season under the same conditions.

Harassment Protections
The text states that clubs and unions will commit to avoiding situations of sexual, psychological or ethnic harassment for its players.

More for senior players
Players who have been at a club for more than six seasons will be able to charge a bonus when they leave, increasing with the number of seasons played. For example, after being at a club for six seasons the player will receive €2,000 if a player has stayed as long as nine seasons this rises to €3,500.

Plus: holiday pay; injury protections; and paid time for appearances with the club outside of matches, something previously contested by players.

María José López, the AFE reference lawyer involved in the negotiations said the agreement had already generated interest from around the world.

“They are already calling us from other parts of the world to ask about the document.”

This particular collective bargaining agreement is of real interest to other countries who are developing their own female domestic leagues. The apparent end to negotiations marks a historic moment for women’s labour relations in for Spanish women’s sports stars.

David Aganzo, the president of the majority union said: “The players deserved it. This is a decent and good agreement that will protect their rights.”

Kosovare Asllani, a Swedish player at Madrid based side CD Tacon believes that the strike action is “about more than one league, it’s about football all over the world.”

Following the news earlier this year that the Australian Football Federation would be granting their men’s and women’s squad equal pay, Asllani believes that Spanish female footballers could be the next to benefit from the changing tide.

“If players elsewhere are asking for it, why can't we? It rings on the water in a positive way, it's more and more people realising the value we have and what we can demand.”