The team, named Fenix FC after a Phoenix bird, was started by 24-year-old Hugo Martinez, who was ousted from the women's team Martinez played on after taking hormone-altering drugs and transitioning to male. Martinez was unable to play on a men's team without a male ID and sought out other trans-identified women online to form their own team.
After 3 years, Fenix became the first all-trans soccer team to achieve federated status in Europe and started last season by playing unofficial matches. However, this season it joined a local club in Barcelona, competing in the fifth tier in the northwestern region of Catalonia.
The team's captain, 19-year-old Luke Ibanez claimed to be worried about trying to play on a men's team out of fear of getting hurt and joined Fenix after Martinez reached out to Ibanez.
“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,” Ibanez told Reuters.
The Catalan Football Federation told the outlet that "men's leagues have been mixed for the past two seasons, meaning players of any gender can participate regardless of their official identity." It added that players may "use a name that's different from their legal one" while in the league.
Fenix said that despite their devastating first-game loss, what mattered most is that trans-identified people were able to play on a team together.
