Atlético Madrid Femenino: Pioneers of Spanish Women's Football

While much of the attention around Atlético Madrid focuses on the men's first team, the club's women's side has written its own remarkable chapter in Spanish football history. Atlético Madrid Femenino were champions of Spain three years in a row and played in front of the largest crowd ever to watch a women's club match in Europe. This is their story.

Origins and Integration

Atlético's women's team traces its roots to the early 2000s, when the club formalised its commitment to women's football. Over the following years the side was progressively integrated into the club's wider structure, sharing training facilities and youth development pathways with the men's setup at the Cerro del Espino complex.

Three Consecutive League Titles

The team's golden period arrived between 2016 and 2019, when Atlético won the Primera División three seasons in a row. Those championships broke the previous dominance of Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao and established Atlético as the leading force in Spanish women's football at the time.

The Record-Breaking Metropolitano Crowd

On 17 March 2019, Atlético Madrid Femenino hosted Barcelona at the Metropolitano in front of 60,739 supporters. It was, at the time, the largest attendance ever recorded for a women's club football match anywhere in the world. The occasion became a landmark moment for the women's game in Spain and demonstrated the scale of the audience that existed for it.

Copa de la Reina and European Football

Alongside the league titles, Atlético have competed in the Copa de la Reina and represented Spain in the UEFA Women's Champions League. Those European campaigns brought the club into contact with the continent's strongest sides and accelerated the professionalisation of the squad.

Players Who Made a Mark

The Atlético Femenino squads of the championship years featured internationals from Spain and abroad, several of whom went on to play for major clubs across Europe. The team also became an important pathway for players developing through the Spanish youth system, in the same way the men's La Cantera academy has produced generations of talent.

The Same Identity

What is striking about Atlético Femenino is how closely the team reflects the wider club. Organisation, work rate and collective spirit have defined its most successful sides, the same qualities described in our guide to Cholismo. The badge means the same thing regardless of which team wears it.

The Road Ahead

Spanish women's football has grown enormously since 2019, with increased investment, professional contracts and a World Cup triumph for the national team. Atlético remain one of the country's established clubs in the women's game, and their record of three consecutive titles and a world-record crowd is a permanent part of that story.

Conclusion

Atlético Madrid Femenino helped change the landscape of women's football in Spain. Their titles and their record-breaking night at the Metropolitano deserve a place in any history of the club. Explore more of the Atlético story in our dedicated book.

Explore Our Book