Only 40 per cent of those who played in qualifying for this summer’s Women’s World Cup or at the 2022 European Championship view themselves as professional footballers and 29 per cent played in those matches for free, according to a report by FIFPro, the trade union representing the interests of more than 65,000 professional footballers worldwide.
The findings were based on the responses to surveys sent to 69 member unions who competed in the five confederations’ championships, which act as qualifying for the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, as well as last summer’s European Championship in England.
FIFPro said the fact that almost two-thirds of respondents said they had not been paid to play in a confederation tournament is “overwhelming when we acknowledge that these are the world’s top women’s players on their road to the World Cup“.
The vast majority of the 362 players who gave their opinions anonymously wanted to see a drastic improvement in medical support, training facilities and remuneration, with almost two-thirds saying they had to take unpaid leave from other jobs to compete at tournaments.
Lack of access to training facilities — with 26 per cent of respondents saying they did not have access to a gym — and travelling in economy…
