Footballers were placed “at risk” during qualifying for the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month by a lack of medical support and substandard working conditions, according to the global players’ union.
A report by Fifpro involving responses from 362 internationals took an in-depth look at an often fragmented, and badly scheduled, qualification process and reached a damning conclusion.
“During qualification the conditions that the players are exposed to and expected to deliver in are not up to the standards of elite international football, putting both the players and the sport at risk,” Fifpro said in a scathing foreword to the first report of its kind in the women’s game. “Fifpro firmly calls on the industry to take a close look at the qualification processes in each of the six confederations.”
The investigation focused on the continental championships outside Europe which also served as World Cup qualifiers, and on Euro 2022. It found that about 40% of players did not regard themselves as professional, almost a third had not received payment from their national team and two-thirds had taken unpaid leave or holiday from alternative employment to play in the tournaments.
Given that just over 60 of the respondents competed in Euro 2022, staged in England last summer, Fifpro highlighted the finding that 70% of players surveyed had not received an ECG before the tournaments in question.
Such heart health checks are routine in the men’s game, as are wider medical examinations. However 54% of the female internationals who responded had not undergone a pre-tournament medical, while 39% said they had had no access to mental health support.
A growing fear of mental and physical burnout proved a recurring complaint of those players surveyed. “I am very concerned about the health of the players,” said one, European, respondent. “There is a big lack of rest between playing for your club and the national team during the year. The level is becoming more and more intense. We demand more from players but I am not convinced the resources around the players are good enough today to give [us] the proper recovery we need.”
Such sentiments were echoed by several internationals from South America, with one saying: “Playing so many games in a row without enough rest is a problem.” Another bemoaned “the dreadful fixture schedule” and a third referred to a “lack of interest in developing women’s football and a lack of respect for the players”.
In March Fifa announced the implementation of “equal conditions” for its mens and women’s World Cups. Although Fifpro acknowledged this represented a “historic and long-awaited step forward” and “an acknowledgment of progress towards equality” it stressed that “the pathways to World Cups require attention”.
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Fifpro welcomed Fifa’s decision to pay participation and prize money to players involved in this Women’s World Cup – each winning footballer will receive £217,000 and all those who go out in the group stages get £24,000 – and is urging international football’s governing body to turn its attention to the qualification process.
One of the reports principal conclusions is that Fifa needs to equip the women’s World Cup qualification process “with a more complete regulatory framework”.
Fifa has been approached for comment.