With the season returning soon, the RFEF have announced several changes to the remainder of the season. The changes also saw Barça Femení crowned champions.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic slowly being contained, football will soon return to the TV screens, and, more importantly, the pitches.
And with that, the Spanish Football Federation, colloquially known as the RFEF, have made some decisions that will impact the remaining games of the season — which, in some cases, will not be contested.
As for LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank, the remaining fixtures will take place, but with different guidelines.
The amount of players that can be called up for games has been extraordinarily changed.
Teams in LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank are allowed to call up 23 players for every game, whereas teams in the Segunda B — the league that Barça B play in — and the Tercera, can call up 20.
The amount of substitutions are increased from three to five, although they, still, only can take place in three installments. This means that a manager can make changes three times during a game, but can substitute five players, instead of three.
Moreover, an agreement has been reached with regards to non-professional competitions, with no relegations taking place. Play-offs or final phases will be played in an express format, behind closed doors, with a minimum interval of 72 hours between the games played. For teams in the youth categories, the season is over, and promotions will take place.
For Barça B, this means the team will participate in the play-offs, and could gain promotion to the Segunda Divisíon, the second-best league in Spain. The games will take place behind closed doors, and in neutral venues, for safety and hygiene reasons, as confirmed by the Catalan club Friday evening.
The RFEF emphasizes that the decisions have been made ‘taking information from the Ministry of Health and the Higher Sports Council into account’, and depend on the evolution of the pandemic, as well as ‘the recommendations from these two governing bodies’.
The relevant committee in the RFEF will validate the standings in the different competitions in the country to establish the champions of the leagues that will not be played out.
Barça Femeni crowned champions
This includes the Iberdrola league, where Barça Femení play their football. The Catalans have, as a result, been crowned champions of the league for the fifth time, equalling Athletic Club’s record for domestic league titles. Eight games were remaining in the season, but, as the Primera and Reto Iberdrola leagues fall under the non-professional category, their league seasons were prematurely declared over.
The Catalans will be joined by Atlético Madrid’s women’s team in the league, in next year’s edition of the Champions League. The red-and-whites from Madrid came in second place, nine points behind the now five-time league champions.
