FIFPro Asks To Maintain Support For Women’s Football

The international players’ union FIFPro called for continued financial support for global women’s football in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

FIFPro released a report Thursday warning of the impact of COVID-19 and considers it “likely to pose a threat to the existence of women’s sport if specific considerations are not taken to protect the industry.”

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The report points out that the lack of standards and safeguards for women workers in this branch implies that women are especially vulnerable and that an economic recession may affect clubs that would otherwise be stable.

There are already indications that the pandemic is causing havoc, beyond the cancellation and postponement of international leagues and tournaments. In Colombia, the Independiente de Santa Fe recently suspended the contracts of all the players in the women’s team, but said the men’s team would only face a reduction in payouts.

The pandemic came at a time when women’s football was experiencing a boom driven by the success of the last World Cup in France.

“We are concerned that investment in women’s sports will be reduced or that investments that arose before the crisis will be withdrawn. We are concerned that those decision makers ignore the needs of the players and exclude women’s soccer in recovery with support programs, ”said Amanda Vandervolt, director of FIFPro’s women’s soccer office. “But we are here with solutions and presenting ideas and innovations and a new way of approaching women’s soccer that takes into account the interests of the players and the long-term success of the women’s soccer industry.”

FIFPro presented five recommendations for the industry: Prioritize the physical and mental care of the players, apply special financing measures for soccer players and teams, ensure that the pre-pandemic investment is not withdrawn, guarantee that women are included in the financial aid measures and developing solidarity systems in women’s sports to ensure recovery.

“We believe that it was necessary to highlight, in view of the crisis management problem, the importance of maintaining conscious attention in women’s sports due to the damage that a crisis like this can have in an industry that has been growing very well, but it remains fragile in many places and it can be drastic, ”said FIFPro general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann.