FIFA report finds wide discrepancy in women's pay, contracts, attendance

The average annual salary for a female professional soccer player globally is $10,900, says FIFA's annual report on the women's game, a figure skewed by a small number of top clubs.

Among the teams FIFA designated as Tier 1, which includes 41 clubs from 16 countries, the average salary was around $24,030, although 16 of those top clubs paid an average gross salary of over $50,000, according to the "Setting the Pace, FIFA Benchmarking Report on Women's Football" released on Monday.

The highest of those salaries was approximately $120,000.

The average gross salary, however, at Tier 2 and 3 clubs was $4,361 and $2,805, respectively.

"There is a need for players of a certain standard to earn a reliable and sufficient income solely from playing, reducing their dependence on secondary sources of income and allowing them to dedicate the time required to play at a higher level," the report said.

Tier 1 clubs also featured the longest player contracts, most commonly between one and three years, with salaries highest for contracts of two to three years, while Tier 3 teams were most likely of the tiers to offer contracts under three months.

"A longer contract enables players to commit to a club and a location, giving them more stability so they can focus on their footballing careers," said the report.

It also highlighted attendances as an area of concern.

League record

While Arsenal hosted Manchester United in front of a Women's Super League record 60,160 fans at Emirates Stadium last year, Tier 1 teams averaged 1,713 fans, while Tiers 2 and 3 were 480 and 380, respectively.

Arsenal were among the 23% of clubs that played some matches at a stadium other than their regular ground, playing five home league games at The Emirates and the rest at Meadow Park, which has a seating capacity of 1,700 and total capacity of 4,500.

"For clubs in Tier 1, the average attendance at the other stadium was typically double that at the regular stadium, indicating that the sport has the ability to attract larger audiences on occasion," the report said.

Women are under-represented in coaching roles, with 22% of head coaches across all tiers being female. There is more gender equity among officials, with 42% of referees being female, ranging from 57% in Tier 1 leagues to 25% in Tiers 2 and 3.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the report helps clubs, leagues and stakeholders gain a better understanding of the factors that drive success.

"The strides made in recent years have been remarkable, but there is still more work to be done to unlock its full potential," he said.

Surveys for "Setting the Pace" were sent to 135 leagues and 1,518 clubs, with a total of 677 clubs in 90 leagues responding.

FIFA tiers were determined by factors such as whether the league had a club licensing system, the number of a league's players who featured in the 2023 Women's World Cup and a member association's total budget for women's football among others.