Real Madrid Femenino

It was first in 1997 that a younger Ana Rossell, playing for crosstown club Atletico Feminas, petitioned the then Real Madrid president, Lorenzo Sanz for the creation of a women's football section at the club. According to Rossell, her requests were not met with the response she was hoping for, with club executives citing that a women's section wasn't economically sustainable. Speaking to Madrid-based Diario AS in 2013 about her earlier frustrations, Rossell looked back and said: “When you are a teenager, you dream of playing for your (dream) team, but since there was no Real Madrid (women’s section), I had to do it at Atlético Feminas (now Atlético Madrid Femenino) and CD Canillas.”

Rossell proceeded to try again first under Sanz's successor, Florentino Perez (in his first spell at the club). In the documentary "Un Sueño Real", she revealed that she approached Perez after the unveiling of Zinedine Zidane with a napkin proposing the women's team, similar to the way the president himself had signed Zidane. Her struggle proved unsuccessful. It wasn't until 2013, in Perez's second stint as president that light began to emerge at the end of the tunnel. “Real Madrid, until now, always answered me in the same tone that it (women’s football) was not part of the club’s plans in the short run. The other day, however, Florentino did leave a door open for the future,” said Rossell. In the same interview, she went on to say that starting the section would entail minimal costs in the first year of existence, with the focus being on grassroots football. “The first team would start in the Regional Division, and end up in the Primera Division in four years. And with the team in a top competition, an agreement would be signed with a leading company in the female sector,” she concluded.[2]

In a collaboration with Primavera Blanca in May 2016, with support from Spanish players Verónica Boquete, Mar Prieto and Real Madrid fullback Alvaro Arbeloa, Rossell again launched a “Historia Por Hacer” (a line from the Real Madrid anthem meaning “History you will make”) campaign calling for the creation of women's section. In a speech in which she thanked Boquete for her support, Rossell concluded by saying; “…There is no doubt that every day that passes without having a women’s section is one less day that we have as Madridistas to make history; one less day to make our club bigger.” [3]

When the question was put to him during a talk show on El Larguero in 2017, Florentino Perez seemed prefer the idea of starting a team from scratch. “We will definitely have a women’s team,” he said. “We’re working on it, but it will be from the position of a newly formed club, not a team in which we bring the best player from Germany, Brazil… That is not what Madridismo is all about.”

Logo used by CD TACON until 2020.

CD TACON was founded on 12 September 2014, with the aim to be a completely professional women's football team. The name TACON (which translates to heel) is an acronym: Trabajo (work/graft) Atrevimiento (dare/bravery) Conocimiento (knowledge/wisdom) Organización (organisation/club) Notoriedad (visibility/renown).[4]

The club was founded with a possible future merger with Real Madrid firmly in mind. Like Madrid CFF, they wore all-white home kits in homage to the Spanish giants. In their first competitive season, 2015–16, the club only registered an under-14 team. On 24 June 2016, TACON announced the merge with CD Canillas for incorporating their women's senior and under-19 teams.[5]

A few years after the founding of CD TACON, Ana Rossell again spoke about her dealings with Real Madrid. “Three years ago, we presented a project to Real Madrid to create a women’s football section.” Ana Rossell said at the unveiling of Lorena Navarro and Lucia Rodriguez for Club Deportivo TACON. In a docuseries with Newtral, she revealed that while Real Madrid were pleased with what they had seen with CD TACON, they weren't ready to make the jump into women's football.

After only three seasons in Segunda División, on 19 May 2019, TACON achieved promotion for the first time ever to Primera División.[6]

On 25 June 2019, the Real Madrid CF board of directors announced a proposal of integrating TACON as their women's football section to be presented to their socios (members).[7] As part of the agreement, TACON would play their 2019–20 season matches at Ciudad Real Madrid during the transition, with the merger being officially completed on 1 July 2020.[8] On 15 September 2019, The Extraordinary General Assembly of Real Madrid approved the absorption of the club.[9] The merger marked a successful end to a journey that Ana Rossell, a socio at Real Madrid, began a decade earlier; bearing similarities with the role Lola Romero played in the rebirth of Atlético Madrid's women's football section.[10] Florentino Perez, speaking at the General Assembly after the vote to absorb was passed, cited that TACON's youth system was the reason why it was chosen as the base for the women's team, thus striving to stay true to Real Madrid's philosophy of developing Spanish talent.

There were many who criticised Real Madrid's decision to absorb a team rather than start from scratch. Former TACON player, Yamilla Badell said to AS in 2019 that “Madrid was always behind everything” and that the agreement (between the clubs) had “been brewing for years”. It had been known that once promotion to the top division was achieved, an agreement with Real Madrid would be reached. In that interview with Diario AS, she said that the players knew about the absorption long before it was announced, and that the TACON dressing room was “very Madridista”. She went on to add, “People criticized that (Real Madrid) did not start from scratch in women’s football, but Real Madrid has always been present in the steps of TACON”.[11]

Having been promoted, the club went on to lose a large majority of its playing squad in the summer of 2019. Argentine midfielder Ruth Bravo moved to Rayo Vallecano, while others like Lixy, Marbel Okoye and Yamilla Badell did not have their contracts renewed. In order to strengthen for the coming season, the club saw the arrival of Swedish duo Kosovare Asllani and Sofia Jakobsson; French midfielder Aurélie Kaci from Atlético Madrid, Ainoa Campo from crosstown rivals Madrid CFF, English forward Chioma Ubogagu, goalkeeper Ana Valles, Nigerian defender Osinachi Ohale, as well as the Brazilian pair Daiane and Thaisa Moreno, who was nominated for best midfielder in her lone year at A.C. Milan Women. The last signing of the summer was versatile defender Babett Peter from VFL Wolfsburg.

Despite the wealth of talent and experience at their disposal, CD TACON's start to the season was nothing short of abysmal, with heavy losses against Barcelona, in its debut match,[12] and EDF Logroño particularly standing out. After a poor run with just one win in nine games, the team started to gain a sense of stability in November 2019, going on a five match unbeaten run. TACON finished the shortened 2019–20 season in 10th place, with many fans unhappy with how the team had thrown away a 3–0 lead with ten minutes to go and ended up losing 4–3 on home soil in the last match before the Coronavirus pandemic.

Spurred by the growing interest in women's football – more so in the United States after their latest World Cup triumph in 2019 – the Los Angeles based film and TV production company EXILE Content and Spanish media company Newtral announced a documentary series about the genesis of the first-ever women's football team at Real Madrid.[13]

On 1 July 2020, Real Madrid CF released an official communication confirming the completion of the merger, thereby signalling the complete absorption of CD TACON, which would then operate as 'Real Madrid' from that date onwards.[14]

The new structure of the section includes a senior team, reserve side similar to Castilla, known as 'Real Madrid Femenino B', an Under-19 team, 'Juvenil' and a 'Cadets' for under-15s and below. The structure already existed under CD TACON and has been integrated into Real Madrid's famous La Fábrica.[15] The remaining TACON Juvenil and Cadete teams that couldn't be absorbed right away have since been rebranded as 'Fenix Football Club'. While the Madrid federation recognises the new Fenix as an affiliate of Real Madrid, it is unknown whether they will operate in all levels of the women's game, or just the grassroots as Cuneo did after being absorbed by Juventus.[16]

• Marta Tejedor: 2016–2018.
• David Aznar: 2018–2020.

• David Aznar: 2020–present.