Following months of recrimination and rumour, some of the fifteen players who said they would never again play for the Spanish women's national team under Jorge Vilda have been included in his preliminary squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup announced today.

The MVP in this season's UEFA Women's Champions League, Aitana Bonmatí is among those who return in time for the Women's World Cup. Six others who have not played for Vilda since September are back in. Also returning is the two-time Ballon D'Or winner, Alexia Putellas who, out injured for most of the season, was not one of the fifteen who refused to play but is believed to have shared their misgivings.

Last autumn, the group of senior internationals known as 'Las 15', all sent emails to the Spanish Federation (RFEF) saying they did not wish to be considered for selection for their women's national team as the current situation "significantly" affected their "emotional state" and "health". They individuals all resigned from the national team "as long as it is not reversed".

The individuals included some of the best players in the world - Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bomnatí, Mapi León, Mariona Caldentey, Sandra Paños and Claudia Pina (all from FC Barcelona), Lola Gallardo and Ainhoa ​​Moraza (Atlético de Madrid), Nerea Eizaguirre and Amaiur Sarriegi (Real Sociedad), Lucía García and Ona Batlle (Manchester United), Leila Ouahabi and Laia Aleixandri (Manchester City) and Andrea Pereira (Club América).

In their absence, Spain continued to win matches, including their first-ever victory over the world champions, the United States in October. Two senior players who also initially withdrew their labor, former captain Irene Paredes and all-time leading goalscorer Jenni Hermoso, returned to play under Vilda this spring.

In the meantime there have been meetings between the RFEF's Director of Women's Football and the fifteen individuals, some of whom came to the conclusion that it was easier to create change from within the setup than from the outside. Among the changes made by the federation, an economic fund has been created by the RFEF to finance the travel of the player's direct relatives and the caregivers for any of their children to Australia and New Zealand for the duration of the tournament stating that "the RFEF has made an additional effort in order to provide the best possible conditions for the soccer players, and find the best solutions so that the players receive the support of their closest circle during the championship."

It is believed as part of the reconciliation process, Jorge Vilda visited the training camps of the players who had refused to play under him. The final step came last month when those who wanted to resume playing for Spain once more sent emails to the RFEF, this time formally declaring their availability to play for the national team.

Four of the initial fifteen - Mapi León, Patri Guijarro and Claudia Pina of Barcelona and Lola Gallardo of Atlético - did not send the second email and remain unavailable to Vilda for the Women's World Cup. Speaking to El Periodico in April, Mapi León, widely acknowledged as one of the best center backs in the world, justified her ccontinued intransigence. "This is not a tantrum for me and if someone believes it, they do not understand anything about the message that is being sent. I have things that are very clear to me, I need some changes, if those changes do not occur, then I have to assess whether I want to or I don't want to continue with the situation as it is."

Last week Spain moved up to sixth in the FIFA Women's World Rankings, equaling their highest-ever position. Having reached the last sixteen in the 2019 Women's World Cup, the draw this time appears to have given them a favorable route into the last eight of the competition. They will play all their games up to and including their semi-final in New Zealand minimizing on travel.

After a match at home against Panama on June 29, Vilda will name his final 23-player squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup final on Friday June 30. They will then play another preparatory match away to Denmark in Copenhagen on July 5 before travelling to New Zealand where they will play their group stage matches against Costa Rica, Zambia and Japan.