Fifpro survey exposes pay insecurity and rising stress in women’s football

A new Fifpro survey has highlighted the financial and mental-health pressures facing women footballers, despite the sport’s growing commercial profile. According to BBC Sport’s reporting on the players’ union’s findings, 59% of respondents identified financial concerns as a reason they might end their careers early. Psychological stress was cited by 46%, compared with 13% in Fifpro’s previous survey in 2017.

The research covered more than 800 players, all with clubs in their countries’ top divisions. Yet participation at that level did not necessarily mean secure employment: 78% reported having a written contract and 82% received payment from their club. Only 57% said their pay covered the costs of playing. Under Fifa’s definition, professional status requires a written contract and remuneration exceeding a player’s football-related expenses.

Pay has increased, but the figures show considerable differences across the workforce. Mean monthly earnings have tripled since 2017 to $2,601, while the median stands at $1,669. Regional monthly averages ranged from $6,450 in North America to $480 in Africa. The report found that average earnings in 10 Eastern European countries remained below national minimum wages. Fifpro did not provide league-by-league salary averages because its analysis was organised by region.

Longer contracts have not eliminated gaps in income. The average term has risen from roughly a year in 2017 to 19 months, but Fifpro’s head of women’s football, Alex Culvin, said only about two-thirds of players were paid throughout the year. Some contracts covered seven or nine months, leaving players needing other work. Separately, 24% of respondents reported late payments during the past two seasons, and 42% lacked a pension.

The survey also found that 57% of respondents had struggled with their mental health; half of that group had not received support from their clubs. Culvin said there was no single explanation for the increased prominence of psychological stress. She identified greater public visibility, insecure finances and insufficient support as possible contributors, rather than established causes of the change.

Parenthood offered a more encouraging finding. The proportion who said wanting a family could lead them to leave football fell from nearly half in 2017 to 19%. Fifpro attributed that improvement partly to Fifa’s maternity regulations, introduced in 2021 and subsequently updated. Culvin called for commercial development to be accompanied by stronger player protection and for footballers to have a voice in decisions affecting their working lives.