Rights. Justice. Action. The reality women's footballers are still waiting for

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On International Women’s Day, FIFPRO’s Director of Women’s Football Dr Alex Culvin explores this year’s ‘rights, justice and action’ theme through a football lens – highlighting that while significant strides have been made, most women’s players are still being left behind.

By Dr Alex Culvin

International Women's Day offers a moment of reflection. But it's also a call to confront the realities that many women players face around the world. 

The theme this year, rights, justice, action for all women, speaks directly to the realities many players continue to live every day. Because while women’s football is rightly celebrated for its rapid growth, increased visibility and commercial momentum, those headlines blur the reality of inequity. For far too many players, progress remains fragile, inconsistent and, in some cases, entirely out of reach.

We are seeing rights violated in ways that are both obvious and hidden. Economic injustice remains evident for players across clubs and national teams experiencing unpaid or delayed salaries – and salaries that do not provide a living wage. As the women’s game continues to professionalise across markets, cases of non-payment and delayed salaries are becoming more common and only a handful of leagues and clubs are addressing the financial vulnerabilities that come with being a professional women’s footballer. But financial insecurity is only one layer of precarity.

There are still unresolved violations of players' physical, emotional and psychological safety. Many women continue to exist and work in environments that fail to protect them first as human beings, let alone as elite athletes. Basic standards that should be fundamental to professional sport are often absent: respected contracts, safe travel, appropriate accommodation, and conditions that allow players to perform and recover properly while on national team duty.

Ultimately, the structures of women's football still do not consistently ensure the standards of care and professionalism owed to high-performance athletes. And these experiences vary considerably depending on where a player is in the world. 

A small number of leagues, largely in parts of Europe and North America, offer relative visibility, stability and resources. But that visibility can act like a plaster over a much deeper wound. The reality is that the majority of players sit at the other end of the scale, where rights are fragile, conditions are substandard, and voices remain unheard.

We often talk about inequality in women’s football, but perhaps the more urgent conversation is about equity.

The gap between the top and the rest is vast. In our recent research, two-thirds of players across the confederation championships in 2025 earned less than 20,000 USD per year. It’s a figure that impacts not only their quality of life, but their ability to train, recover and fully commit to their careers. For many, football and its structures still expect players should be ‘grateful’ for whatever scraps are offered.

This is not a sustainable ecosystem. And it is certainly not justice.

That is why having a strategy that is centred on evidence building and data collection matters. It does more than tell a story; it provides undeniable evidence of lived experiences. While we have seen some important progress – including increased prize money, improved tournament conditions, and direct payments to players at major competitions – improvements remain uneven and slow.

What the data consistently shows is that while pockets of progress exist, the global uplift simply isn’t happening at the pace players deserve.

There are no quick fixes. But there must be sustained action.

One area demanding urgent attention is prize money and its distribution. When FIFA introduced direct payments to players at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, it marked a historic shift. Yet the ripple effects – positive and problematic – revealed how fragile systems remain. In some cases, bureaucracy and federation-level decisions significantly reduced what players actually received. Some players were taxed twice on sums that were never intended to be diminished in that way.

This is not just about money. It’s about respect. About recognising players’ labour as legitimate, protected and valued.

At the same time, confederations must treat women’s competitions as the commercial products they truly are, not as financial cost. Evidence already shows the value these tournaments generate. It is not the responsibility of players to commercialise the game; that responsibility sits squarely with competition organisers and rights holders.

Justice also means ensuring the player voice actively shapes the future of the sport, not merely react to decisions made around them.

At FIFPRO, integrating the player voice is not symbolic. It is standard practice. From calendar reform to strategic priorities, players are consulted at every stage, their feedback actively shapes outcomes. This isn't a box-ticking exercise. It's a recognition that those who live the reality of the game understand best what needs to change.

But even as the sport grows, there is a real risk of leaving large groups of players behind.

Competitive imbalance in several leagues threatens long-term sustainability. When the same teams dominate year after year, investment dries up, fan engagement suffers, and players across the rest of the league lose meaningful opportunities to develop. If women’s football is to thrive, growth must be collective. Not concentrated.

This is a crossroads moment. Expanding elite competitions without strengthening domestic leagues risks creating a ‘best and the rest’ system that benefits only a few. Women’s football cannot simply copy-paste models from the men’s game. It must evolve in ways that prioritise balance, access, employment opportunities, and long-term ecosystem health.

So, if football truly committed to rights, justice and action – not in words, but in practice – what would change tomorrow?

First, there must be universal global minimum standards across club and international football. With real accountability and enforcement. Professional treatment cannot depend on geography.

Second, salary protections must be introduced, including meaningful salary floors that ensure players can live with dignity from their work.

And third, there must be proper investment in women-specific health, performance research and medical support. The game cannot continue relying on data designed for men’s bodies while asking women to perform at the highest level.

These are not luxuries. They are rights.

International Women’s Day should not only celebrate how far women’s football has come – it must confront how far it still has to go. Growth without justice is not progress. Visibility without protection is not equality. And commercial success without collective uplift will never deliver a truly sustainable future.

The players are doing their part. They are speaking. They are performing. They are providing the evidence of what needs to change in their sport. Now, the football industry must respond. 

Equality cannot live in the future tense. Women’s players deserve it now.