On Friday September 15, 2023 It will go down in the history of Spanish football for the decision of the players to declare themselves “not eligible” for the Spanish football team. This decision, which was made almost unanimously, has had two exceptions, that of Athenea del Castillo and that of Claudia Zornoza, although for different reasons.
The statement issued by up to 39 players from the national team in which they demand more changes than those that have taken place so far – the forced resignation of Rubiales and the dismissal of Vilda – occurred on the same day that the new coach and former deputy of Jorge Vilda, Montse Tomé, had to make public announcement for the matches of the UEFA Nations League which will begin next Friday.
Despite the closeness of the match, at the moment, Tomé has very few eligible top-level players, and only one from the squad that touched the sky in Auckland: Athenea del Castillo
The Real Madrid and Spanish national team player made his position public along with the pertinent explanations through a post on “an important part of our demands have been satisfied“I’m not contemplating giving up the national team call.”
At the same time he has “remembered” who are footballers and they dedicate themselves to playing soccer. “First of all, we are footballers. Taking into account what has happened in recent weeks, it never hurts to remember it. We owe it to our profession and we have to do our duty,” were his words.
Lastly, he stressed that he considers the struggles that are taking place in the offices of great importance, but that he is also “aware of the situation of total uncertainty that the RFEF is going through”so he sees it as legitimate to give him a vote of confidence after the changes that have occurred.
Finally, he mentioned the important sporting event that the national team faces starting next week with the nations leaguea competition in which Spain could achieve a direct ticket for the Paris Olympics 2024. For all this, she claims that being “the champions of the world” and having lived through “a few horrible weeks”, she wants to think alone and exclusively in football.