La Primera Iberdrola kicks off with more magic than ever. After seven months on hiatus due to COVID-19, which left eight days of last season without playing, women's football returns to the scene with an unprecedented League and starred in the first times. From a Real Madrid that debuts in this category to a new and temporary competition model, with special mention to the launch of the first Spanish and European women's football collective agreement. All this, added to a strong and great commitment of the First Division clubs in favor of a more competitive League, leaves us an idyllic setting to enjoy, if the virus allows us.
In this way, A Logroño-Levante will open today (11:30 a.m.) in Las Gaunas the longest League (34 days, until June 27) and the media in history. In the latter, a lot will have to do with the staging of the first Women's Real Madrid in history. David Aznar's team leaves their past as Tacon behind and embarks on a new path full of challenges. The first of them will find it in this first day and it will be nothing more and nothing less than to contain Barça. Both teams will meet tomorrow (13:30) for the first time in history in the misnamed classic female (The crossroads par excellence in the category is Atlético-Barça).
Before this first Real Madrid-Barça there will be other interesting meetings. Atlético's turn will be today (16:00) in Cornellá against Espanyol that he has erased from his personal locker last season, in which he was bottom without victories. For their part, the rojiblancas want to recover from a season torpedoed by injuries, coach changes, with up to three coaches, and even the scourge of COVID-19, which led him to the final phase of the Champions League with a call-up of 17 players, some of them touched. Now, Dani González's team seeks to reign in a League dominated by Barça, which no one could defeat the previous year.
This Saturday will also be the turn of Athletic-Deportivo (16:00), a match highlighted by the level of both teams, fifth and fourth, respectively, of the last League, as well as by the presence of the public in the stands (314 seats), a fact that was also announced at the last minute for Logroño- I raised. For its part, the debut of Santa Teresa and Eibar, the two clubs recently promoted to First Division, will be against Sevilla (12:00) and Betis (11:00). From the premiere to the non-debut of Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad, whose game has been postponed without a date because the Madrid team started the preseason later than the rest. The txuri-urdin painting will have to wait until the next day to present the new project led by Natalia Arroyo. TNor will he be able to take his eyes off tomorrow at the duels that will star Sporting de Huelva and Valencia (11:00) and Granadilla and Madrid CFF (13:00). All of them have been reinforced a lot and well and have barely been able to show their changes during this preseason, limited by the pandemic. Your return to work may leave some surprise …
New this season
- More teams (from 16 to 18) and twice as many drops (4). This is how the new Primera Iberdrola is presented, whose suspension last season due to COVID-19 forced a change in format.
- The Champions it will be for three teams, increasing the European places from two to three. Thus, teams like Real Madrid will be able to achieve the European classification, since it will be difficult to snatch the first two places from Barça and Atleti.
- The collective agreement it will be in force for the first time in history. After a year and a half of negotiations and a long wait until its publication in the BOE, the players will have legal protection for their contracts.
- Rayo Vallecano The League will start later, on the third day, with its matches being postponed. This is because the Madrid team was waiting for the CSD protocol, starting the preseason on September 14.
- The League will be declared void, without champion or promotion or relegation, if 50% of the matches are not disputed due to a major cause (COVID-19) before July 30. If more than 50% of the matches are played, the classification will be taken into account.
Schedules for day 1 at Primera Iberdrola
Saturday, October 3
11:30 Logroño-Levante
16:00 Athletic-Depor
16:00 Espanyol-Atleti
Sunday, October 4
11:00 Sp. Huelva-Valencia
11:00 Eibar-Betis
12:00 Santa Teresa-Seville
13:00 Granadilla-Madrid CFF
13:30 Real Madrid-Barça
Postponed Real-Rayo Vallecano