FIFA Report Reveals Significant Disparities in Women’s Compensation, Contracts, and Attendance

According to FIFA’s recent report on women’s football, the average annual earnings for female professional footballers globally stands at $10,900. This average is heavily influenced by a select few elite clubs.

For clubs classified as Tier 1, which consists of 41 teams from 16 nations, the average salary is significantly higher at approximately $24,030. Notably, 16 of these leading clubs provide an average gross salary exceeding $50,000, as detailed in the recently released “Setting the Pace: FIFA Benchmarking Report on Women’s Football.”

The highest reported salary among these clubs reached around $120,000.

Conversely, the average gross salary at Tier 2 and Tier 3 clubs fell to $4,361 and $2,805, respectively.

“There is a critical need for players of a certain calibre to secure a stable and adequate income exclusively from their playing careers, thereby decreasing reliance on alternative income sources and enabling them to concentrate fully on enhancing their performance,” the report highlighted.

In addition, Tier 1 clubs tend to offer the longest player contracts, which commonly range from one to three years, with the highest salaries linked to contracts spanning two to three years. Meanwhile, Tier 3 teams are the most likely to provide contracts of less than three months.

“Extended contracts allow players to commit to both a club and a locale, fostering greater stability to focus on their football careers,” the report noted.

The report also raised concerns regarding match attendance figures.

LEAGUE RECORD

In a historic match, Arsenal hosted Manchester United, drawing a record 60,160 fans to the Women’s Super League at Emirates Stadium last year. However, on average, Tier 1 clubs attracted about 1,713 fans, with Tier 2 and Tier 3 clubs averaging only 480 and 380, respectively.

Arsenal is part of the 23% of clubs that played some matches outside their regular venue, holding five home league games at The Emirates while the remainder took place at Meadow Park, which has a seating capacity of 1,700 and a total capacity of 4,500.

“For Tier 1 clubs, the average attendance at alternate venues was generally double that of their primary stadiums, suggesting that the sport has the potential to draw larger crowds on certain occasions,” the report stated.

Women are notably underrepresented in coaching positions, with only 22% of head coaches throughout all tiers being female. However, there is a greater level of gender balance among match officials, where females comprise 42% of referees, varying from 57% in Tier 1 leagues to 25% in Tiers 2 and 3.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino remarked that the report provides valuable insights for clubs, leagues, and stakeholders, enabling them to further understand the determinants of success.

“The progress achieved in recent years has been extraordinary, yet there remains considerable work ahead to realise the sport’s full potential,” he stated.

Surveys for the “Setting the Pace” report were distributed to 135 leagues and 1,518 clubs, receiving responses from a total of 677 clubs across 90 leagues.

FIFA’s tier rankings were based on multiple factors, including the presence of a club licensing system within leagues, the number of players from a league who participated in the 2023 Women’s World Cup, and the overall budget allocation for women’s football by member associations, among others.