Spain's football federation is providing eligible female players with free egg-freezing treatment as part of a new programme aimed at giving athletes more choices about when they decide to have children.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation has partnered with a fertility clinic called Tambre to offer fertility treatments, such as egg freezing and in vitro fertilisation, to eligible women connected to Spanish football.

The programme comes as female athletes face the challenge of balancing their careers with the years when fertility is generally highest. Can freezing a woman's eggs really allow her to delay having children without affecting her chances of getting pregnant in the future?

What Is Spain Offering Female Footballers?

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said on 8 September that it has a new deal with the fertility clinic Tambre. The partnership will offer fertility treatments, such as egg freezing and in vitro fertilisation, to women who are connected to Spanish football and meet the requirements.

The programme includes players from Spain's senior women's national team and the women's futsal team, along with first-division female referees and assistant referees. RFEF staff are also part of the agreement.

The programme will stay active until spring 2029. Reports say that eligible national-team players need to have been called up at least twice to qualify, and the same requirement applies to women's futsal players.

The RFEF will pay for egg-freezing treatment for players who qualify, excluding medical costs, and it will also cover the cost of storing the frozen eggs for up to five years. The programme also offers access to other fertility treatments and specialist advice.

The federation stated that the agreement aims to provide women with more freedom and better information when making decisions about motherhood and their career paths.

Why Are Female Athletes Turning to Egg Freezing?

Female athletes often struggle with balancing their careers and the years when they are most likely to have children. Training and competing can take many years of hard work and dedication, and some athletes might also want to have children during that time.

As a woman gets older, her chances of becoming pregnant naturally generally decline, mainly because the number and quality of her eggs decrease. This can make it more difficult for women to get pregnant as they grow older.

Egg freezing allows some women to preserve their unfertilised eggs when they are younger, so they can potentially use them later with in vitro fertilisation. For athletes, this could offer another way to manage motherhood while keeping up with a career in professional sports.
Freezing eggs does not stop the ageing of the reproductive system or guarantee that a woman will be able to get pregnant later on.

Does Freezing Your Eggs Guarantee You Can Have a Baby Later?

No. Egg freezing helps a woman keep her options for having children in the future, but it does not mean she will definitely get pregnant or have a baby later on.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) says that freezing eggs in advance might help preserve future reproductive options, but there are still some unknowns about how well this method works. How old a woman is when she freezes her eggs and how many eggs are collected can influence the likelihood of having a baby later.

If a woman wants to use her frozen eggs in the future, she needs to first thaw them and then fertilise them, which is typically done through in vitro fertilisation. Not all eggs will make it through the thawing process, become fertilised or develop into an embryo that can result in a pregnancy.

ASRM also states that there is not enough evidence to know exactly how many eggs a woman should freeze to achieve a future live birth. This means that freezing eggs is more about preserving a possibility for the future rather than guaranteeing that a woman will be able to have a baby later.

Read more

What Are the Risks and Limitations of Egg Freezing?

Egg freezing is not just about collecting and keeping eggs for the future. Women usually have to get hormone shots for around two weeks to help their ovaries make more eggs, and then they go through a procedure to get the eggs out.

The treatment may lead to side effects like feeling bloated, sore breasts, headaches and general discomfort. In some rare situations, ovarian stimulation may result in a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which can make the ovaries swollen and painful.

There is no promise that a woman will one day need or use her frozen eggs, and there is no guarantee that the eggs will lead to a successful pregnancy. The process can also be expensive, especially if the eggs need to be kept for a long time or used later with in vitro fertilisation.

Because of this, doctors who specialise in fertility usually suggest talking about the possible advantages, downsides, expenses and unknowns before choosing to freeze eggs.

Spain's programme has also brought up a bigger question about how female athletes can manage being a mother while keeping up with their sports careers. Fertility preservation might offer athletes another choice, but having good maternity benefits, help with childcare and support when returning to competition can also influence whether athletes feel comfortable having children during their careers.

Spain has launched a new fertility programme that allows eligible female football players to access egg freezing and other fertility treatments, offering them an extra choice when deciding on their career and personal plans.

Egg freezing helps preserve unfertilised eggs for possible use later, but it does not ensure that a woman will be able to get pregnant in the future or prevent the natural changes that happen as she ages.

For female athletes, the programme might offer more flexibility when considering both motherhood and their sports careers. Fertility preservation is just one part of the broader support that can help athletes manage having children while still pursuing their careers.

Read more