LONDON — Women's football is on course to become a billion-dollar industry, yet many professional players remain on low wages, insecure contracts and rising psychological stress, according to a new global survey of more than 800 footballers by Fifpro. The report states global revenue is expected to rise from about $581m (£439m) in 2024 to over $1bn (£756m) in 2027, but the commercial boom is not being matched by safeguards for players.
The survey found 59% of players cited financial reasons as a factor that could drive them to leave football early, while 46% identified psychological stress. Although mean average monthly earnings have tripled since 2017 to $2,601 (£1,970), the median salary is just $1,669 (£1,250) and most women players earn less than £15,000. "The economic case for women's football has been made," said Alex Culvin, head of women's football at Fifpro. "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."
Culvin said growing visibility has added pressure without adequate support. "Players are now very visible," she said. "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." In total, 57% of respondents said they had struggled with their mental health and half of them were not provided with support by their clubs. "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," Culvin said.
Despite all respondents playing in their country's top tier, only 78% reported having a written contract and 82% said they were paid by their club, with just 57% saying that payment was enough to cover the costs of playing. Under Fifa's definition, 62% described themselves as professional, 27% as semi-professional and 12% as amateur. "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. Average pay varies sharply by region, from $6,450 (£4,886) in North America and $3,982 (£3,016) in central and Western Europe to $878 (£664) in Eastern Europe and $480 (£363) in Africa, with average pay in 10 Eastern European countries below the national minimum wage.
Contract security remains fragile. Average lengths have increased from about one year in 2017 to 19 months, yet only two-thirds of players are paid for the whole 12 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," Culvin said. The report also found 24% had experienced late payments over the past two seasons and 42% were not provided with a pension. Culvin warned the boom could "mask some of the realities that players face and actually endure on a day-to-day basis", adding: "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." One improvement was parenthood, with 19% now citing wanting a family as a reason to leave early, down from nearly half in 2017, which Fifpro linked to maternity regulations introduced by Fifa in 2021 and updated two years ago.