Fenix FC was created by Hugo Martinez following much difficulty. The squad made history by becoming the first all-trans team with federated status in Europe. Martinez was compelled to withdraw from the women’s football group he was part of when he started to undergo his transition. Martinez highlights how he was not accepted by the girls’ or boys’ teams and how he sought a safe space to play football. He details how other players, coaches and spectators hurled abuse and threatened him. It took Martinez three years to set Fenix FC in motion, and the club is named after the mythical bird which symbolises rebirth.
Luke Ibañez, 19, is Fenix FC’s team captain. He was tentative about playing football with non-trans men, so this club provided him with a great opportunity. He said: "Fenix is a team of trans boys created entirely by trans boys, but I think it's more than that - a family, a safe space where you can be free and express yourself however you want and how you really feel.”
In 2023, Spain gave final approval to a divisive law which makes it much easier to legally change gender. While many are pleased that trans rights are being extended and the new law “de-pathologises” trans lives, others argue that such decisions encourage misogyny, and significant hostility persists in Catalonia, where the team is registered.
Despite being defeated in their first match, many believe the fact that the members of Fenix FC were able to compete against cisgender men was a bigger achievement.
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