MADRID (AP) — Spain's women's national team is making a coaching change two weeks after reaching the final of the European Championship.
Montse Tomé will not have her contract renewed and will be replaced by former player Sonia Bermúdez, the Spanish soccer federation said Monday.
Another former Spain player, Iraia Iturregi, was named the team’s second coach.
The decision was made by the federation’s board members after Tomé led Spain to the Euro 2025 final, which it lost to England in a penalty shootout on July 27.
Tomé replaced former coach Jorge Vilda following the team’s World Cup title in 2023. She led Spain to the title of the inaugural Women’s Nations League in 2024. Her current contract with the national team was valid until the end of the month.
Tomé was the first woman to coach the senior women’s team in Spain. She had been an assistant to Vilda during the World Cup and was promoted in the fallout of former federation president Luis Rubiales' nonconsensual kiss of player Jenni Hermoso during the World Cup’s awards ceremony in Australia.
Spain has enjoyed some peace and stability since Rubiales was convicted of sexual assault for the kiss that ignited one of the worst crises in Spanish soccer.
The outrage surrounding the scandal led to widespread changes and improved conditions for the women’s national team. Spanish society called for more support for women, and sports officials ultimately were forced to review outdated protocols related to the women’s squad.
Bermúdez was a Spain international and also played for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, among other clubs. She retired as a player in 2020.
Bermúdez had been coaching the youth squads of Spain’s national team. She was currently with the under-23 squad.
The board that made the decision was composed of 30 members, half of them women.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press
