FIFPRO warns employment gaps threaten women’s football careers
Almost half of women footballers surveyed by FIFPRO are considering leaving the game early, with financial insecurity and psychological stress exposing gaps in employment standards despite rising salaries.
FIFPRO has called for enforceable employment standards in women’s football after its latest global study found that 49 per cent of surveyed players were considering ending their careers early, most commonly because of financial pressures and mental health concerns.The ‘2026 FIFPRO Global Employment Report: Working Conditions in Women’s Football’ draws on surveys and interviews with approximately 800 players, providing the organisation’s most extensive assessment of the sector since 2017.FIFPRO director of women’s football Dr Alex Culvin said: “The professionalisation of women’s football is accelerating in some parts of the world and, as our report highlights, revenues are increasing, however, the progress and benefits are not evenly distributed among players across the world. Away from the best resourced clubs, there is a recurring theme of precarity and fragile conditions.”Among players considering an early departure, 59 per cent cited financial reasons and 46 per cent identified psychological stress, highlighting challenges to retaining a professional workforce as investment and commercial activity grow.The average inflation-adjusted monthly club salary has tripled since 2017 to US$2,601, but the median is substantially lower at US$1,669, reflecting an uneven distribution of earnings across the game.Salary growth has been particularly pronounced in markets including the United States and Mexico, while average pay remains below national minimum wage levels in 10 Eastern European countries.Even across Western Europe and Asia/Oceania, which include several larger football markets, average salaries are not significantly above national minimum wages.The report describes growth as uneven and fragmented, with stronger revenues in better-resourced competitions failing to translate consistently into secure employment elsewhere.Only 56 per cent of surveyed players have an employment contract, while 13 per cent receive a pension from their clubs and 47 per cent believe their teams lack sufficient staff.Players interviewed also described inexperienced or unqualified support personnel, raising questions about whether clubs’ operational resources are keeping pace with professional demands.FIFPRO wants minimum requirements covering pay, facilities, staffing and health embedded in national employment contracts, with competition organisers working alongside player unions to make those protections enforceable.Only eight of the 30 national women’s leagues examined have collective agreements negotiated with players through their unions, leaving substantial scope to formalise employment conditions.Mental health provision is a particular concern, with 57 per cent of respondents reporting difficulties and half of that group receiving no support from their clubs.FIFPRO is calling for mandatory psychological support, pointing to the NWSL’s provision of mental health practitioners at every club and a right to six months of mental health leave.The findings also show progress in some areas, with average contract length increasing from 12 to 19 months and the proportion of players represented by agents rising from 14 per cent in 2017 to 41 per cent.The proportion considering leaving football to start a family has fallen from 47 to 19 per cent since 2017, alongside the introduction of FIFA maternity protections in 2021.FIFPRO argues that those protections demonstrate the value of regulatory intervention, with stronger employment guarantees needed to ensure commercial growth supports sustainable careers across more of the women’s game.