- Published
Women's football is on course to become a billion-dollar industry, but many professional players are still earning low wages, working on insecure contracts and experiencing rising psychological stress.
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players → publish → stress
That is according to the findings of a new global survey of more than 800 footballers by the players' union Fifpro.
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That → accord → union
external
Players were asked why they might leave football early.
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they → ask → football
The report stated 59% cited financial reasons, while psychological stress was another factor identified by 46% of respondents, up from 13% when Fifpro conducted its previous survey in 2017.
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Fifpro → state → 2017
Alex Culvin, head of women's football at Fifpro, said there was no single explanation for the increase.
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Culvin → say → increase
She pointed to growing public exposure, financial insecurity and inadequate support systems as possible contributing factors.
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She → point → factors
"Players are now very visible," she said.
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she → say → ?
"Players are not only expected to be visible, but are obligated to be visible because of the low income to subsidise the lack of solid income they receive.
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they → expect → income
"
While awareness of mental health issues has improved, Culvin explained many players felt they were being left to cope alone.
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they → improve → issues
"Players also reported, whilst having a higher psychological stress, that they didn't have the support they needed in a mental health sense, either at the club or internationally," she said.
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she → report → club
In total, the report shows 57% of women who responded to the survey struggled with their mental health and half of them were not provided with support by their clubs.
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half → show → clubs
The report states that global revenue in the women's game is expected to rise from about $581m (£439m) in 2024 to over $1bn (£756m) in 2027.
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revenue → state → 2027
It also highlights emerging psychological pressures facing professional women's footballers.
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It → highlight → footballers
In an increasingly digital world, players are more accessible than ever through social media, bringing them closer to fans but also exposing them to online harassment and abuse.
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players → bring → harassment
The Fifpro survey suggested that although salaries, visibility and investment have risen significantly since 2017, much of the professional game still operates in precarious conditions.
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much → suggest → conditions
For Culvin, the sport's commercial growth is not yet being matched by safeguards for the players driving it.
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growth → match → it
"The economic case for women's football has been made," she said.
"
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she → make → football
I think the institutional regulatory and policy case needs to catch up quickly to protect and enhance our women's players and enable them to perform maximally.
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case → think → them
"
Players don't see themselves as 'professional'
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Players → see → themselves
One of the report's most striking findings is how players view their own professional status.
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players → view → status
Under Fifa's definition, a professional player has a written contract and is paid more than the expenses incurred playing.
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player → have → expenses
In the survey, 62% of players described themselves as professional, 27% selected semi-professional and 12% chose amateur.
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% → describe → amateur
All players in the survey were playing for clubs in the top tier of their country, yet only 78% reported having a written contract and 82% said they were paid by their club.
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they → play → club
However, just 57% said that payment was enough to cover the costs of playing football.
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payment → say → football
"Players who are professional but don't see or feel themselves as professional are not receiving the full benefits of being an employee," Culvin said.
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Culvin → see → benefits
The report also highlights the limits of salary growth.
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report → highlight → growth
Although mean average monthly earnings have tripled since 2017 to $2,601 (£1,970), the median salary is just $1,669 (£1,250).
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salary → triple → 2,601
Average monthly pay varies considerably by region, from $6,450 (£4,886) in North America and $3,982 (£3,016) in central/Western Europe, to $878 (£664) in Eastern Europe and just $480 (£363) in Africa.
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pay → vary → Africa
While salaries have risen sharply in leagues such as those in the USA and Mexico, average pay in 10 Eastern European countries remains below the national minimum wage.
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pay → rise → wage
Even in regions such as Western Europe and Asia/Oceania that span some bigger football markets, average pay is not significantly higher than national minimum wage levels.
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pay → span → levels
Fifpro was unable to provide average salaries per league as the report focused on regions rather than individual countries.
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report → provide → countries
Average contract lengths have also increased from about one year in 2017 to 19 months, but many players still face periods without guaranteed income.
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players → increase → income
"Only two-thirds of players are paid for the whole 12 months," said Culvin.
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Culvin → pay → months
"There's a lot of players who are on seven-month contracts, nine-month contracts, which means that they've got to work to make up the rest of the calendar year.
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they → be → year
She believes the rapid commercial growth of women's football has helped to obscure some of these realities.
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growth → believe → realities
Despite the rapid growth of England's Women's Super League, Fifpro says conditions at the top of the game could obscure the reality for many players elsewhere.
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conditions → say → players
Culvin warned the economic boom in women's football could "mask some of the realities that players face and actually endure on a day-to-day basis".
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players → warn → basis
The report also found that 24% of players had experienced late payments over the past two seasons, while 42% were not provided with a pension.
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% → find → pension
'Wake-up call' is needed, says Culvin
Culvin argues there is a growing disconnect between expectations and reality.
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Culvin → wake → expectations
"I think there's a wake-up call needed for the ecosystem, that our players are suffering and that there is not the kind of wraparound support and accountability that's needed for players," she said.
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she → think → players
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
