Spain’s Jenni Hermoso says “football continues to give me life” six months on from winning the World Cup, when former Spanish federation chief Luis Rubiales kissed her.
Hermoso addressed her first international news conference since the incident, emphasizing that it was not consensual.
Spain is set to confront France on Wednesday in the inaugural Women’s Nations League final.
“I’m lucky to be back in a final after six very long months,” said Hermoso.
“Today I’m enjoying football, competing with Spain to win another tournament.”
Hermoso, aged 33, lodged a legal complaint against Rubiales after he kissed her on the lips following Spain’s victory over England in the World Cup final in Sydney, Australia, back in August.
Following the incident, Rubiales was compelled to step down from his position, and subsequently, he has been prohibited from engaging in any football-related activities by FIFA for a duration of three years. This ruling was reaffirmed last month when the 46-year-old attempted to appeal.
The occurrence triggered widespread global outrage regarding sexism within the upper echelons of women’s sports. It also prompted Spain’s players to boycott the national team temporarily as they demanded reforms within women’s football in the country.
“A lot has happened since then,” said Hermoso on Tuesday.
“It has been a hard process, of understanding many things. I’m still playing football and the only thing I want is to continue enjoying myself wearing this shirt”.
Hermoso, who plays her domestic football for Tigres in Mexico, returned to the national side in October and scored an 89th-minute winner against Italy in the Nations League group stage.
“For me it’s very important to play in another final, to continue here, I feel good, football continues to give me the life I need, I want to continue enjoying games with my national team and with my Tigres team, and I continue to enjoy this sport,” said Hermoso.
“If we win tomorrow, Spain will have made history again.”
By reaching the final of the tournament, Spain have also qualified for the summer’s Paris Olympics.
“From lifting the World Cup to the Games, we are making a lot of history in a short time, and what better than a team feeling like champions in every sense,” she said.
“Tomorrow we have another chance to show that Spain is here to stay and do very good things.”
But while the incident at the World Cup sparked international outrage, Spain’s Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati said her nation winning the trophy has not “served a purpose” when it comes to changing the landscape of the international women’s team.
“Unfortunately I can’t say a lot of things have changed,” Bonmati told French sports newspaper L’Equipe.
“We have the example of the English, when they won the Euros, we saw a real change following their success at a nationwide level.
“It had repercussions, and there was more investment in the domestic league. The stadiums are full when England play. It makes me jealous because I can’t say the same thing has happened here.
“There are still so many things to do here and I have the impression that the World Cup has not served any purpose.”
Jorge Vilda, the manager who led the team to victory in the World Cup, was dismissed from his position in September. He remains under investigation as part of the criminal case involving Rubiales.