Spain's soccer federation will fund egg freezing.
asserted
federation → fund → freezing
Some advocates worry it could send the message that athletes should delay motherhood
Should professional sporting bodies encourage female athletes to freeze their eggs?
That's part of the evolving conversation around athletes and motherhood as Spain's football federation becomes the latest organization to support fertility treatment for female players.
uncertain
federation → worry → players
As part of its agreement, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said Tuesday that it will cover the full cost of egg-freezing treatment for all international players who have been called up at least twice.
"It's important that female athletes feel they don't have to choose between their professional and personal lives," Barcelona midfielder Patri Guijarro said at Tuesday's announcement.
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Guijarro → say → announcement
For female athletes, the window of peak performance and the window for fertility overlap, which researchers have noted has often made athletes feel as though they have to choose one or the other.
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they → note → one
The RFEF's move follows similar fertility provisions recently announced by several other soccer teams and federations — such as the National Women's Soccer League and the Chelsea FC women's team — and other leagues like the WNBA and Women's Tennis Association.
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move → follow → WNBA
But while fertility preservation measures like egg freezing are typically presented as another way to give women in elite sport greater freedom to decide if and when to become mothers, some experts and advocates worry it could perpetuate the attitude that women should wait for retirement to do so.
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women → present → retirement
Exciting step, but more supports needed:
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supports → need → ?
In some ways, any time a sporting body or team announces fertility funding, it's an exciting step forward for women athletes, says two-time Olympic rower Jill Moffatt, the co-founder of the Canadian non-profit MOMentum, which supports athlete mothers.
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which → announce → mothers
At the same time, Moffatt says it's only a true feminist "win" if they offer the same level of support, such as maternity leave and child care options, for athletes who choose to have children while competing at a high level of sport.
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who → say → sport
"Otherwise, it's kind of a double-edged sword," she told CBC News.
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she → tell → News
"Physiologically, it's totally doable to have a child and come back and compete at the highest level … but there are still so many barriers."
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it → have → level
Moffatt says it's also important to remember that for many 2SLGBTQ+ athletes, IVF is sometimes a necessary part of family planning regardless of whether they choose to wait.
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they → say → planning
So in that sense, she says funding egg freezing and fertility treatments is a "huge win."
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funding → say → freezing
There's also the fact that fertility treatments are expensive, Moffatt says, and many female athletes probably couldn't afford it without funding.
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athletes → be → funding
For instance, CBC Sports has previously reported that 65 per cent of PWHL players earned less than $60,000 annually last season.
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cent → report → 60,000
Most Olympic and Paralympic athletes are "just trying to keep their lights on," Moffatt said
'
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Moffatt → try → lights
For many female athletes, being offered the option at all may feel like a major step forward given what researchers have noted is a longstanding attitude in sports culture that getting pregnant is the end of an athlete's career.
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getting → offer → career
"Pregnancy and motherhood have long felt incompatible with a career as a pro or elite athlete because policies were either lacking or treated women unfairly," Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, the CEO of Canadian Women & Sport, told CBC News.
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Graves → feel → News
As a result, women who wanted to start families would often end their careers early or wait until retirement, she says, adding that waiting too long also carries a risk to a woman's ability to conceive.
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waiting → want → ability
Fencer Nada Hafez competed while 7 months' pregnant at an Olympics where moms are in the spotlight
Mother vs. athlete: University of Alberta study highlights gaps in gender equity in sport
For some, waiting to start their families until they're done playing is the right choice, and egg freezing offers them some assurances, Sandmeyer-Graves said.
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Graves → compete → assurances
That's echoed by Margie Davenport, a kinesiology professor at the University of Alberta who recently helped FIFA develop guidelines to support pregnant and postpartum soccer players.
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FIFA → echo → players
Egg freezing has gained momentum as a practical alternative for those who prefer to wait until retirement," Davenport told CBC News.
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Davenport → gain → News
"Ensuring female athletes don't have to choose between a career and motherhood is fundamental to athlete wellbeing and the growth of women’s sport.
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athletes → ensure → sport
And that's reassuring, according to British rugby player Natasha Hunt.
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that → accord → Hunt
"It's the thought process behind it, like it's an OK thing to do.
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it → do → it
Like, we want to support you in this journey as well and that your contracts will still be there," Hunt said in Thursday's episode of The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby podcast.
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Hunt → want → podcast
In the same episode, when asked if she would freeze her eggs, British player Megan Jones answered, "100 per cent, yes," but she said there should be more education around it.
Medical, ethical considerations
Athlete education is also a concern for some medical experts, who have cautioned that egg retrieval is far from straightforward, involving hormone medications and a surgical procedure.
IVF is also not a fail-proof plan.
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IVF → ask → medications
Live birth rates for those who undergo at least one embryo transfer within a year can range between 38 and 50 per cent, according to a September 2025 news release from the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society (CFAS) discussing the most recent findings from the Canadian Assisted Reproductive Technologies Register.
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who → undergo → Register
CFAS noted that these rates vary by age, and success rates decline as age increases.
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age → note → age
The CFAS release also said those findings show that the number of elective egg freezing procedures more than doubled between 2019 and 2024.
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number → say → 2019
Canadian professor helps FIFA create tools to keep moms playing soccer
PWHL
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FIFA → help → soccer
Toronto's Natalie Spooner shows motherhood can embolden a career
"There's no guarantee that when you defrost or thaw those eggs, turn them into embryos, that they'll actually be successful and result in a successful live birth," Dr. Lamia Zafrani, an athlete gynecologist in London, told Germany broadcaster DW this week.
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Zafrani → show → DW
Zafrani said that there are also ethical considerations when an organization offers egg freezing.
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organization → say → freezing
"It always does bring up the question of whether by offering egg freezing and fertility preservation, the underlying message is that you're telling your players 'don't get pregnant whilst you're working for us,' " Zafrani told DW.
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Zafrani → bring → DW
That's why it's so important to also support athletes who are pregnant or postpartum, said Moffatt, with MOMentum.
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Moffatt → support → MOMentum
She says there needs to be more child care options, specialized physical training, breastfeeding facilities and acceptance around athletes bringing children to sporting events and training camps.
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She → say → events
In 2025, the federal government changed its policy of treating pregnancy like an injury within the athlete funding model.
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government → change → model
Advocates called it a huge step for gender equity in sport.
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Advocates → call → sport
"There is more work to be done in Canada and internationally on this topic, but we're heading in the right direction," Sandmeyer-Graves said Friday.
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Graves → be → direction
'Every choice comes with trade-offs'
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choice → come → offs
…and 7 more, not listed.
