The 2025 Copa América Femenina is just around the corner. It’s just a matter of time before we witness an exciting affair of goals and galore, as 10 CONMEBOL nations will take part and contest for the 10th edition of this prestigious tournament from July 12 to August 2. While excitement runs high for each team and their fans, there’s a concerning update regarding the Uruguay women’s soccer team.

For the past few days, there has been some kind of discrepancy among “Las Celestes,” and instead of seeing things sort out, they have only grown. In fact, they have come to a point where the team’s presence in the Copa America might be at risk. For context, yesterday, all the players from the Uruguayan women’s national soccer team took to social media to announce that they had skipped training.

The reason for this protest is the poor conditions they’re being forced to play under, coupled with the lack of adequate support from their federation. To make a statement, all the players took to Instagram stories, sharing a black-and-white photo taken inside a locker room, where they stand side by side with their backs to the camera.

Additionally, they all wrote a similar message as well, which, as translated, read, “We’re not training today because we still haven’t received a favorable response to improving our conditions. This measure isn’t against our passion, but rather a fair right. We want to represent Uruguay in the Copa America, but we also deserve fair treatment for our efforts and dedication.”

This only puts the current situation of the team into uncertainty, not to mention that all of this is happening with just five days before the Copa America kicks off with Uruguay playing Ecuador. And it’s not because they don’t care; Though players are eager to represent their nation at the Copa América, they won’t settle for anything less than fair treatment and respect for their hard work.

However, there has been no such support from the Uruguayan federation. Their demand is simple: to be paid fairly, something that echoes the time the US Women’s National Team players went head-to-head against their own federation, the infamous equal pay fight. Renowned figures, including Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, were some vocal voices in winning this fight, which indeed has proved favorable for them.

So what the Uruguay women’s soccer team demands is nothing fancy, but necessary support and infrastructure. And simply, one has to admit that it’s a huge flaw to have women’s teams get compensated after they start winning, when winning itself requires investment first. So far, there has been no statement released by the Uruguayan federation regarding this situation.

While more details are expected soon, the situation highlights the players’ need to make such a bold move in order to push for the fair treatment they’ve long been denied.

Is the Uruguay women’s soccer team right to do such a protest?

Honestly, this isn’t the first time the Uruguayan women have called for improvements. According to journalist and prominent social media figure Coach Jackie J on Instagram, this isn’t the first time they’ve made such demands. About two years ago, nearly 300 women from all levels of soccer in Uruguay—and professional soccer in general—came together to push for better conditions. The Uruguayan women’s team outlined a series of concerns they wanted addressed.

It includes training in deplorable conditions, fields without proper grass that were effectively unplayable, and using dressing rooms lacking even basic infrastructure. Additionally, players reported being given discarded clothing from men’s teams, having to pay out of pocket for transport, managers, and gear, and receiving no financial support from clubs for medical expenses in case of injury. They also pointed to a complete lack of visibility from clubs on social media and in general.

Though one would hope that some of these issues might have been resolved in the last two years, the fact that players are once again staging protests suggests that many of these problems likely persist. Either way, this is quite a unique situation. Already, Uruguay is set to face Ecuador on Friday. And yet, it’s still unclear whether this was a one-day protest or the start of a longer strike that could impact their Copa América campaign.

Whatever it is, something needs to be done quickly in order to resolve this situation ASAP!