Real Madrid Club de Fútbol Femenino is a Spanish professional women’s football club based in Madrid, competing in the Primera División, the highest level of women’s football in Spain. Founded in 2014 as the independent Club Deportivo TACÓN, the team entered into a merger and acquisition process with Real Madrid CF in 2019. Upon the completion of this integration, it was officially rebranded in 2020 as the women’s football section of Real Madrid. The team hosts its home fixtures at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium, a venue within the club’s Ciudad Real Madrid training complex.
History 2014–2019: Club Deportivo TACÓN
CD TACÓN was founded on 12 September 2014. The name TACÓN (Heel) is an acronym of Trabajo (work) Atrevimiento (dare/bravery) Conocimiento (knowledge) Organización (organisation) Notoriedad (visibility/renown). In their first competitive season, 2015–16, the club only registered an under-14 team. In June 2016, TACÓN announced a merger with CD Canillas for incorporating their women's senior (which had been competing in the second tier for the past three seasons) and under-19 teams.
In their first season at senior level, in the 2016–17 Segunda División, TACÓN finished second in their regional group, below Madrid CFF who won promotion to the Primera División.
Because both TACÓN and Madrid CFF (founded in 2010 by businessman Alfredo Ulloa, a Real Madrid socio - club member - like TACÓN's founder, Ana Rossell) were clubs open to a potential takeover by Real Madrid, a rivalry developed between them. Rosell described the clubs' relations as "cordial" in 2019.
Rossell had petitioned successive Real Madrid presidents, Lorenzo Sanz, Florentino Pérez and Ramón Calderón, to create a women's football section since 1997, but received no official response. According to Rossell, her requests were denied, with club executives citing that a women's section wasn't economically sustainable. In those years, she was a player for Atlético Feminas and Canillas. In 2016, Rossell called publicly for Real Madrid to create a women's football section.
In June 2017 Real Madrid's president, Florentino Pérez, claimed that the club would make its own women's team from scratch, and not buy an existing club. Rossell had claimed in 2013 that Pérez was first starting to consider women's football at the club. Real was thus doing so several years or decades later than many other clubs in Europe and in the city of Madrid itself. On El Larguero in 2017, Pérez said “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.”
As late as September 2018, Pérez still ruled out having a women's team, as El Confidencial reported: "Florentino did not want to spend on a section that did not guarantee trophies and his agents lied to him about the expenses necessary for him to create it". Women's football was not mentioned at all by Pérez at the club's annual assembly on 23 September 2018, and Oscar Sanz of El País wrote, "Real Madrid has the dubious honor of being, together with Getafe, the only First Division club that has neither had nor has a women's team."
2019: Takeover by Real Madrid After three seasons in the Segunda División, on 19 May 2019, TACÓN achieved promotion to the Primera División.
On 25 June 2019, the Real Madrid CF board of directors announced a proposal of integrating TACÓN as their women's football section to be presented to their socios (members). As part of the agreement, TACÓN would play their 2019–20 season matches at Ciudad Real Madrid during the transition, with the merger being officially completed on 1 July 2020. On 15 September 2019, The Extraordinary General Assembly of Real Madrid approved the absorption of the club. Florentino Perez, speaking at the General Assembly after the vote to absorb was passed, cited that TACÓN'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.
2019–2020: Transition year 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 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 TACÓN's start to the season was nothing short of abysmal, with a heavy loss against Barcelona (9–1) in its debut match, 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. TACÓN 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 outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Real Madrid Women were also the subject of a documentary series in 2020.
2020–2021: Real Madrid Femenino
On 1 July 2020, Real Madrid CF released an official communication confirming the completion of the takeover, thereby signalling the complete absorption of CD TACÓN, which would then operate as 'Real Madrid' from that date onwards.
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 'Cadete' for under-15s and below. The structure already existed under CD TACÓN and has been integrated into Real Madrid's famous La Fábrica. The remaining TACÓN Juvenil and Cadete teams that couldn't be absorbed right away have since been rebranded as 'Fenix Football Club', which in turn merged with CD Masriver in 2021.
Crests
The club’s first crest featured a decorative interlacing of the initials "MCF" (Madrid Club de Fútbol) in dark blue on a plain background. A redesign came when the letters were enclosed inside a circle, creating a more balanced and unified emblem. The next transformation occurred when King Alfonso XIII granted the club royal patronage, adding a crown on top of the badge and formally styling the institution as Real Madrid Club de Fútbol. Following the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931, royal symbols were removed, the crown disappeared, and in its place a mulberry diagonal stripe was introduced to represent the historic region of Castile. After the Spanish Civil War, the crown was restored while the Castilian stripe was retained, and the badge adopted a more colourful design with gold details. The most recent significant adjustment came in 2001, when the club modernised the crest for the digital era by refining its lines, brightening the gold, and standardising the colours, including altering the Castilian stripe to a more bluish shade.
Real Madrid Femenino, officially created on 1 July 2020 after the absorption of CD Tacón, adopted the same crest and corporate identity, symbolising its full integration into Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and ensuring visual continuity across all sections of the institution.
Affiliation with Real Madrid CF Throughout their history, Real Madrid Femenino has maintained a direct institutional affiliation with Real Madrid CF, having been formally integrated into the club’s structure in 2020 following the acquisition and transformation of CD Tacón. Unlike many historically independent women’s teams, the side was incorporated as part of the club’s strategic expansion into women’s football, ensuring full alignment with Real Madrid’s sporting and organisational model from its inception under its current identity.
As an official section of Real Madrid CF, the women’s team shares the club’s corporate structure, resources, and long-term sporting vision. The team benefits from access to professional training facilities, including Ciudad Real Madrid, as well as medical, technical, and administrative support systems. Additionally, Real Madrid Femenino is fully integrated into the club’s global branding, marketing strategies, and digital platforms, reflecting its status as a core component of the club.
Home ground
During the transition season, TACÓN played their home fixtures at Field 11 in Ciudad Real Madrid. The matches were not open to the general public, with only club members, selected away fans and those possessing a membership card, allowed to attend. Following the completion of the merger, and given that the senior men's team was using the Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano, Real Madrid Femenino continued to play their home matches at Field 11. At the start of the 2021–22 season, the women's team have alternated between Field 11 and the Alfredo di Stéfano stadium, initially with a reduced capacity for fan attendance.
Support Real Madrid Femenino shares much of its fanbase with the wider Real Madrid community (Madridistas), while also developing its own identity since its full integration into Real Madrid in mid-2020. The takeover of CD Tacón and rebranding was completed on 1 July 2020, giving the women’s team access to Real Madrid’s infrastructure and wider visibility.
Home matches are primarily held at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in the club’s Ciudad Real Madrid complex, a venue also shared with Real Madrid Castilla. Crowd sizes have increased in recent seasons, particularly for high-profile matches. For example, in the 2022–23 season, Real Madrid Femenino registered a highest home attendance of 5,126 in a Liga F match vs FC Barcelona.
League-wide data also supports rising support: in Liga F, attendance at stadiums increased by 7 % compared to prior season, while televised audience rose by 90 %. More matches are being held in “main” stadiums rather than smaller or training-complex grounds, enhancing matchday visibility.
Financially, Real Madrid Femenino is among Europe’s leading women’s clubs in revenue: in the 2023-24 season, it earned approximately €10.5 million, putting it in the top 5 for women’s clubs in Deloitte’s “Football Money League – Women.”
Matchday culture shows a mixture of traditions inherited from the wider Real Madrid support (chants, club identity, presence of “Madridistas”) together with growing interest specific to the women’s section. High-profile fixtures draw larger, more diverse crowds. Club communications, social media, televised coverage, and “fan experience” initiatives have also contributed to raising profile and engagement. Season to season SeasonDivisionPlaceCopa de la ReinaUEFA Champions LeagueAs CD TACÓN2016–172ª2nd2017–182ª1st2018–192ª1st2019–201ª10thQuarter-finalsAs Real Madrid Femenino2020–211ª2ndQuarter-finals2021–221ª3rdSemi-finalsQuarter-finals2022–231ª2ndRunners-upGroup stage2023–241ª2ndQuarter-finalsGroup stage2024–251ª2ndSemi-finalsQuarter-finals2025–261ª2nd Quarter-finals Quarter-finals
2020–21 The 2020–21 campaign was Real Madrid Femenino's first official season under the Real Madrid name following the full absorption of CD Tacón in July 2020. Under head coach David Aznar, the team rapidly established itself as one of the strongest sides in Spain, finishing in the Primera División behind Barcelona, which secured the club's first-ever qualification for European competition. The team also reached the quarter-finals of the Copa de la Reina before being eliminated.