The research reveals a stark disconnect between the commercial success at the top of the game and the daily working conditions of its participants. When asked about potential reasons for retiring early from professional football, 59% of respondents cited financial difficulties, while 46% identified psychological strain as a primary factor. Furthermore, 57% of surveyed players reported struggling with their mental health, with half of those affected confirming that their respective clubs provided no professional psychological support.
Alex Culvin, head of women's football at FIFPRO, emphasized that increasing public exposure, online accessibility, and financial strain are combining to create an unsustainable environment. "Players are now very visible," Culvin explained. "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." She added that despite growing public awareness surrounding mental health in sport, athletes regularly feel left to cope independently without sufficient support systems at either club or international level.
The study highlights that while average monthly earnings have tripled since 2017 to reach $2,601 (£1,970), the global median salary stands at just $1,669 (£1,250) per month. Geographic pay disparities remain severe across the globe. Players in North America lead the industry with an average monthly income of $6,450 (£4,886), followed by Central and Western Europe at $3,982 (£3,016). In contrast, monthly earnings average $878 (£664) in Eastern Europe and drop to $480 (£363) in Africa. Across ten Eastern European nations surveyed, average salaries fall below national minimum wage thresholds, while pay across regions like Western Europe and Asia/Oceania barely exceeds statutory minimums.
This financial instability deeply impacts how athletes perceive their own employment status. FIFA officially defines a professional footballer as someone holding a written contract who earns more than their playing-related expenses. Although every survey participant plays in their country's highest division, only 62% categorized themselves as professional, while 27% identified as semi-professional and 12% as amateur. Overall, 78% of players reported holding a written contract and 82% confirmed receiving payment from their club, but only 57% stated that this compensation was adequate to cover basic living and playing expenses.
"Players who are professional but don't see or feel themselves as professional are not receiving the full benefits of being an employee," Culvin noted, warning that high-profile competitions like England's Women's Super League can create a false impression of universal prosperity. "You've got an industry that's very focused on the top 5% of players. But then what you've got is the rest, which is 95% of the industry who are not paid on time, who have short contracts. They don't get paid for 12 months—they are in incredibly vulnerable and precarious environments."
Contractual structures further compound player vulnerability. While average contract lengths have risen from roughly 12 months in 2017 to 19 months today, only two-thirds of professional players are compensated across all 12 months of the year. Many athletes remain signed to seven- or nine-month deals, forcing them to secure external employment to cover remaining calendar months. Additionally, 24% of respondents reported experiencing late salary payments over the past two seasons, and 42% receive no pension provisions from their employers.
Despite these widespread structural failings, the report documented significant progress regarding family planning following regulatory changes. In 2017, nearly half of players contemplating early retirement cited the desire to start a family as a primary concern. That figure has dropped sharply to 19%, a change FIFPRO attributes to mandatory maternity regulations introduced by FIFA in 2021 and updated two years later. "What we've concluded, which I think is incredibly important, is that targeted regulatory intervention works," said Culvin.
Addressing the broader landscape, FIFPRO stresses that safeguarding player welfare must not come at the expense of financial development, calling instead for immediate regulatory alignment. "The economic case for women's football has been made," Culvin asserted. "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."
Concluding her assessment of the report, Culvin called for structural reform across governing bodies to ensure players hold direct influence over their working conditions. "There doesn't need to be a choice between commercial growth and player protection. Those two things need to go hand in hand and work in tandem. What we're saying is enough is enough and the industry needs to react to the players' needs and centralise the players' voice, ensure that players have a seat at the table when decisions that affect them are being made about them."
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cmd7qn1g0xrxo
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