Magdalena Rukavina: "Speaking up is how we improve women's football"

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Women’s footballers in Austria recently assessed their day-to-day club environments through VdF’s Alternative League Table, which shows how players experience the conditions under which they train, play and appear in public. Austria international and SKN St. Pölten midfielder Magdalena Rukavina, 21, explains why making players’ experiences visible can help drive meaningful change.

By Magdalena Rukavina

I still remember being a kid and wishing I could be a boy, because in my head that was the only way to become a professional footballer.

I only had male footballers as role models. The idea that a woman could play football professionally and earn a living from the game did not exist for me at the time.

Today, a young girl can watch women’s football in Austria and actually dream about doing this for a living. That shift didn't happen by accident, and it certainly isn't finished. It happens because people keep pushing, keep asking questions, and keep being honest about what still needs to change. That’s exactly what Die Tabelle der anderen Art – the Alternative League Table – is about.

For the first time, women’s players in Austria were invited to assess their everyday club environment anonymously. We answered questions on ten areas, including infrastructure, equipment, medical support, communication and salary payments. Those answers were then used to rank the clubs.

Anonymity was crucial because it gave players the confidence to speak openly about sensitive issues such as salaries.

The table gives a clearer picture of how players experience Austrian women’s football. It shows where clubs are performing well, but also where there is significant room for improvement.

I was not surprised that infrastructure was among the areas with lower scores. Having played for several clubs in Austria, I know how much standards can vary.

At some clubs, the quality of the training pitch is simply not good enough. If the surface is uneven, you cannot move the ball at high speed or train at the intensity required to improve. A suitable gym, a good pitch and qualified coaches may sound like basic requirements, but they make an enormous difference to a player’s development and performance.

Medical support is just as important. Our bodies are what allow us to do our jobs every day, so players need access to good physiotherapists and proper care. Some Austrian clubs provide a high level of support, with medical staff for whom working at the club is their main job. Elsewhere, a physiotherapist may only be present occasionally. 

At some training sessions, players have to tape their own ankles because nobody is available to help them. That is not a professional environment.

The differences between clubs are discussed regularly among players. Austria is a small country and most of us know players at almost every team. From those conversations, it is clear only a few clubs currently offer what could be described as a genuinely professional set-up.

Many players work during the day before training in the evening. When that is combined with poorer pitches and limited medical support, it becomes difficult for those teams to reach the level of clubs that have invested in more professional conditions.

I have seen the other side at SKN St. Pölten. We have an incredible team of full-time staff, as well as access to physiotherapy and recovery support after every session. The environment is highly professional, but I am still able to combine football with studying medicine in Vienna. That balance is very important to me personally and is not possible in every country.

Playing internationally and in continental competitions also shows us what is possible. When we faced Juventus in the Champions League this season, everything around the team was prepared to a very high standard. The players did not have to worry about the quality of the pitch or the resources available to them; they could focus on performing.

Working conditions do not decide every match, but they help create the platform on which performances are built.

Salary payments received the highest overall score in the survey, but the results again showed differences between clubs. Late payments affect every player differently.

My club provides my apartment, so a short delay would not place me under the same pressure as a team-mate who must pay rent, a car loan or other monthly costs. For players in that position, uncertainty over when they will be paid can have a serious impact on their lives away from football.

Clubs have a responsibility to plan properly before a season begins. They should only promise salaries they know they can pay, in full and on time, throughout the campaign.

I understand that the people running clubs are human and may also be trying their best in difficult circumstances. Austrian women’s football needs to become more professional so that it can deliver a better product and, in turn, attract more sponsors, supporters and investment. At times, it feels as though women’s teams are treated as an afterthought at larger clubs, particularly when there is little transparency around how resources are allocated. This is one of the areas where I most want to see change.

Progress in Austrian women’s football is already happening. Older players tell me how different the game was five or ten years ago, when earning a living as a footballer seemed almost impossible. Even during my own career, I have seen standards rise.

The process is slow, but it is moving in the right direction. The Alternative League Table can help accelerate it because conditions that were previously discussed only between players are now visible to everyone.

When nobody talks publicly about a problem, there is little pressure to address it. Publishing the results encourages clubs to examine their own standards and identify where they need to improve.

This should not be viewed as players fighting against clubs. Players, coaches, managers, player unions and club officials should all be working towards the same goal: creating an environment in which women’s football can develop and reflect the values we want the game to represent.

That is why VdF’s role is so important. It listens to players and gives us a safe way to speak honestly about our experiences. By bringing those experiences together and making the results public, this Alternative League Table shows clubs where they need to improve and gives everyone a clear basis for discussion. VdF is also there to support players when problems arise, such as when salaries are not paid. 

In five years, I hope we can look at the Alternative League Table and see progress across every category – from pitches, gyms and medical care to salaries, honesty and communication.

The table is not only a ranking. It gives players a safe way to speak and creates a public record of the conditions behind the football everyone sees.

My generation is privileged compared with those who came before us. Young girls in Austria can now see a future for themselves in football that I could not see when I was their age. Our responsibility is to make that future better still.

For that to happen, we have to be honest. We have to speak up about the conditions that are not good enough. And we have to work together so that the next generation does not merely dream of becoming professional footballers. Instead, they enter a game that is already truly professional.

Read the full breakdown of VdF’s 2025/26 Alternative League Table here.