Behind the Billion-Dollar Women's Football Industry: Fifpro Survey Finds Majority of Global Players Still Trapped in Low Pay and Lack of Protection

According to BBC reports, the latest survey conducted by the international footballers' union Fifpro of over 800 women's football players worldwide found that, despite women's football accelerating toward a "billion-dollar industry," the vast majority of players are still playing amid low wages, short-term contracts and a lack of basic protections.

Citing the Fifpro report, the BBC reported that since 2017, the average monthly income of surveyed women's football players has risen to $2,601, roughly triple that of 2017, but the median stands at just $1,669. Regional pay gaps are glaringly stark — North American players average $6,450 per month, Central and Western Europe $3,982, while Eastern Europe registers only $878 and Africa a mere $480. In 10 Eastern European countries, the average wage of women's football players still falls below that country's statutory minimum wage.

More alarming is the fact that all respondents play in their country's top-tier league, yet Fifpro statistics show that only 78% hold written contracts, 82% are paid by their clubs, and just 57% say their remuneration is sufficient to cover football-related expenses. Over the past two seasons, 24% of players have experienced wage arrears; 42% have not received pensions provided by their clubs.

On contract duration, the average has lengthened from around one year in 2017 to 19 months, but only about two-thirds of players can secure stable pay stretching to 12 months; a sizeable proportion hold short-term contracts of seven to nine months, forcing them to seek additional income outside the season.

Pressure is equally heavy on the physical and mental health front. 57% of respondents acknowledged having experienced mental health issues, with half of them unable to obtain support from their clubs. Among players considering leaving football early, 59% cite financial reasons as a factor, while 46% mention psychological stress.

Fifpro's head of women's football, Alex Culvin, said in an interview: "You are facing an industry highly focused on the top 5% of players, while the remaining 95% of practitioners cannot get wages paid on time, only have short-term contracts, and suffer from an extreme lack of protection." She pointed out that players are "not only expected to maintain visibility, but are forced to maintain a public profile due to insufficient income, in order to subsidize the shortfall in their own earnings."

Culvin warned that the commercial boom of women's football may obscure these everyday realities. She urged: "The entire ecosystem needs to be awakened — our players are suffering, yet they have not received the full support and accountability mechanisms they deserve."

The report also records one positive change: in 2017, nearly half of respondents considering early retirement listed "wanting a family" as a possible factor for leaving football; that proportion has now fallen to 19%. Fifpro attributes this to FIFA's maternity leave regulations introduced in 2021 and subsequently updated. Culvin commented: "Targeted regulatory intervention works — the introduction of the 2021 maternity leave regulations is clear evidence of that."

The survey paints a picture of deepening internal division within women's football: elite clubs and top players benefit from investment and exposure, while the vast majority of practitioners worldwide remain in a precarious position. Fifpro stressed that the industry should not be forced to choose between commercial growth and player protection. Culvin stated bluntly at the close: "The message we want to convey is: enough. The industry must respond to the needs of players, place players' voices at the center, and ensure that players have a real say in decisions affecting their vital interests."