Three Very Different Realities in Women's Football
But a shared reality virtually every women's team recognises relates to the working conditions
Before we dive into an overview of the current state of women’s football and Collective Bargaining Agreements, I would like to share a pinch-me moment: my first article for The Guardian! I went down to the south of Sweden to follow the Women’s U-17 Euros and came away with some reflections, analysis and quotes, which I share. The reception has been beautiful, which I’m so grateful for!
I also want to say a big thank you to you people, for reading all these texts I keep putting out. Thank you for being here.
Argentinian women’s football is not doing well
It was two weeks ago, ahead of the Argentinian women’s national team’s double header against Costa Rica at the weekend, that three players decided to leave the camp because of the poor conditions. Goalkeeper Laurina Oliveiros, defender Julieta Cruz and midfielder Lorena Benítez, who are all regular starters in the team, walked out with defender Eliana Stabile joining in shortly after. Reasons included not being able to claim expenses for the games, insufficient food and family members being charged to come watch the friendly matches.
“We reached a point in which we are tired of the injustices, of not being valued, not being heard and, even worse, being humiliated,” Cruz posted on instagram. “Do I leave my children, my family, my club, my job, to go to a place where they don’t value us as athletes, where they can’t give us the basics?” Benitez said.
Coach Germán Portonova claims to understand the players’ decision, whilst arguing that: “We believe through dialogue, or internally, we can continue to grow women’s football. There has been progress in recent years, and I also think there is still a lot left to do, but through dialogue.”
A very patronising response, where the women are made out to be the difficult ones in the process (we’ve heard this one before …) Portonova also overlooks the fact that any progress that has been made which he is referring to, has only come by because these women have kept bringing up the issues! In 2017, the situation in the national team was so bad that they dropped off the FIFA rankings due to inactivity, and two years later they were at the 2019 World Cup in France.
This is all happening off the back of the amazing achievement of the men’s team that managed to win the men’s World Cup back in 2022 in the most dramatic fashion, perhaps sparking a sense of cohesion in the Argentinian community amidst the financial unrest in the country.
The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) got the message though, as they have reportedly agreed to cover the expenses of the two games.
Argentina are unfortunately not alone in being in this situation on a national team level currently. See also: the South Korea women’s team, the Uruguay women’s team, the Dominican Republic team … Let’s not even get started on previously (and still ongoing) feuds between players and their federations - Zambia’s money laundering accusations which could see them barred from the Olympics alongside fresh allegations of sexual misconduct by the coach, Canada suing their federation, Jamaican players not get paid … the list goes ON and that is only from the last year!
Moves are being made in Spain as a Collective Bargaining Agreement is close …
Spain is the country that has been achieving the largest sporting successes, whilst simultaneously having to battle the most issues with their football federation, the RFEF, in recent years. From having 15 players saying they were going to leave the camp (‘las 15’) in an attempt to affect change in the national team set up following poor working conditions under poor leadership (ranging from the team manager Jorge Vilda up to the very top of the chain), to dealing with the fall out of some of those players being called up and going to a World Cup that they end up winning. Enter stage left: the president of the Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, who is now standing trial for sexual assault after kissing striker Jenni Hermoso without her consent, and subsequently attempting to coerce her to drop the case.
But that’s not really what we’re talking about now. Not only has the organisation around the national team been a complete mess, but the same goes for the league. Liga Profesional de Fútbol Femenino (LPFF), nowadays commonly known as Liga F, is the latest iteration of the domestic women’s league in Spain. The league became fully professional in 2021, and it is run in collaboration with the RFEF. The start of the 2022/23 season was delayed due to striking action from the referees, who were paid outrageously low wages in a league claiming to be professional. The teams had to come out for games that they knew were not going to go ahead as the referees had announced their strike. It lasted one game week, before the league managed to work out a deal with the RFEF and the Spanish Sports Council (CSD). The main referee, who was getting 300€ would now be getting 1,666€ per game, an increase of approximately 455%.
This past season saw another strike blossom, this time from the players themselves. Two round of games were delayed due to five players unions coming together as the players went on strike over minimum wages. This in turn has meant that the end of Liga F has been delayed, seeing all other leagues wrapped up whilst the Spanish league is ending today. Atletico Madrid and Levante UD were battling it out until the end for the last Champions League spot, with the capital team eventually getting the job done with their 1-0 win over now-demoted Villareal.
The situation with the delayed league-finish also saw several players leave the Spanish national team set up early, as the players wanted to finish out the season with their club team. This is another point to the current hot topic of calendar congestion courtesy of FIFA and UEFA.
Reports from the last couple of weeks are claiming that a Collective Bargaining Agreement now is close in Spain, after almost two years of negotiation. They already managed to agree on the pay rise, following the strike (again, proving that taking action actually works), but they still need to adress the likes of maternity leave and protocols around sexual harassment at the workplace.
It’s about time for a country that is top of the FIFA rankings, but they’re far from the only top ranked teams to still be having this issue. This was a major problem in Sweden as late as last season, where the players went the whole 2023 season without a CBA in place, before the players’ union finally managing to reach an agreement, starting in November of that year.
Leaders of the Equal Pay movement US Women’s National Team are currently living their best life …
A team that is doing a lot better in relation to their federation is the US Women’s National Team. Emma Hayes has come in as the new head coach, following her 12 years at Chelsea and taking over a disjointed team taken apart by the man she replaced - Vlatko Andonovski. The last World Cup was a shaky showing and with the introduction of Hayes, it’s possible to tell that there are already rejuvenating breezes blowing through the camp.
Hayes has not had the luxury of space and time, she’s just been abruptly asked to field a team for two friendlies against South Korea before she has to pick her Olympics squad. She said she felt ‘like a heart surgeon in the middle of emergency surgery.’
My main takeaways from those two ties against South Korea:
The emergence of the Big Three - Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman. Hopefully we’re going to get to see a lot more of this combination.
Crystal Dunn as a more attacking piece in the formation sees her thriving, after having to cover in the back and playing out of position.
Lily Yohannes getting her first minutes for the national team and scoring just 10 minutes into her debut. What an exciting prospect she is!! The US will be hoping that she opts to stay with them, as she has applied for Dutch citizenship and is still eligible to switch allegiance (because her appearance was in a friendly.)
I think that if Emma can just get it alright with the selection, this team will be a joy to watch at the Olympics.
The USWNT have been leading by example when it comes to going head to head with their federation and even though it’s on a national team level and not the league, their example still shines bright. Thought this excerpt, depicting when the USWNT players effectively went on strike following their World Cup win in 2015 as they were asked to play club games the following weekend, was really good. The book, All Things Being Equal, by Rich Nichols and Sam Yip, sounds very interesting (it’s just a shame it’s not very aesthetically pleasing.)