New FIFA policy is allowing players to start their families mid-career, while also having financial security
\n PARIS
\nWomen footballers once felt they had to put off motherhood until their playing days were over. Now a few are starting families mid-career, with lingering resentment at their clubs replaced by a FIFA-enforced policy.
\nPregnant players faced slashed or unpaid wages, threats, partial maternity cover and even sacking. It was only in 2021 that FIFA published new rules and the situation is now changing.
\n\u201cBefore being footballers, we are first and foremost women,\u201d said Cameroon international defender Claudine Falone Meffometou, who plays for French first division club Fleury and gave birth to a daughter in May 2021.
\n\u201cBeing a mother changes my life and the way I see things and the way I behave,\u201d she told AFP in an interview to mark International Women\u2019s Day on Wednesday.
\n\u201cFor a long time, many girls who would have liked to start a family said to themselves that their contract was going to be terminated. Most were waiting until the end of their career to have a child,\u201d the 32-year-old said.
\n\u201cToday, things are different, and it feels good.\u201d
\nMeffometou said she had constant support from her club during her pregnancy. And even though she was away for 10 months, Fleury offered her a contract extension in 2021.
\nIcelandic player Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir had a far less positive experience, at one of the world\u2019s leading women\u2019s clubs \u2013 and her case led to a landmark ruling this January.
\nWhen she became pregnant in 2021, Gunnarsdottir\u2019s wages were slashed by Lyon, the eight-time European women\u2019s champions, and she said her bosses showed little understanding when she returned to training after having her baby.
\nIn an article for the Players\u2019 Tribune, Gunnarsdottir recounted how one of Lyon\u2019s directors failed to reply to her representatives until she lodged a formal complaint after she was not paid for two months.
\nWhen Gunnarsdottir turned to the players\u2019 union FIFPRO for help, she claimed she was told by Lyon that her career at the club would be over if she took the case further.
\nGunnarsdottir, who is now with Italian giants Juventus, eventually won her case at a FIFA tribunal and Lyon were ordered to pay her more than 82,000 euros ($87,000) plus interest.
\n\u201cThe victory felt bigger than me,\u201d she wrote. \u201cIt felt like a guarantee of financial security for all players who want to have a child during their career.\u201d
\nHer case attracted support from former Ballon d\u2019Or winner Megan Rapinoe. The American called Lyon\u2019s approach \u201cutterly disgraceful\u201d.
\nIn the United States, maternity rights have been written into the contracts of players in an agreement between the national team players and the US federation.
\nBut at the highest level, combining a playing career and children remains relatively rare.
\nOf 3,500 players involved in the main championships questioned by FIFPRO in 2017, just two percent had a child \u2013 and of those players, just eight percent received a maternity allowance from their club or their federation.
\nThings took a turn for the better in 2021 when FIFA published new rules which mean international federations guarantee a minimum of 14 weeks maternity leave, of which at least eight weeks must be taken after the birth. In addition, players must receive at least two thirds of their salary.
\nImportantly, in light of Gunnarsdottir\u2019s experience, clubs have an obligation to reintegrate the player into the squad and they have to be given the opportunity to breastfeed \u2013 and clubs must provide suitable facilities to do so.
\nLeading clubs are gradually adapting to the needs of their female players \u2013 and after the unhappy experience for Gunnarsdottir, Lyon are trying to do better with midfielder Amel Majri, who gave birth to a daughter, Maryam, last July.
\n\u201cThe club allowed me to travel to matches with Maryam and her nanny,\u201d Majri said when she returned to the team in January.
\n\u201cThat gives me peace of mind and allows me to do my job as a player totally… and I can spend all my time off with my daughter.\u201d
\nThe French federation is working on plans to allow Majri \u2013 if she is selected \u2013 to take her daughter to Australia for the women\u2019s World Cup later this year.
\n\u201cEven a few years ago it was something that seemed so inaccessible, we didn\u2019t talk about it,\u201d another France international, Estelle Cascarino, told AFP.
\n\u201cNow everyone is learning how to deal with these sorts of cases. They are examples, pioneers.\u201d
\nThere is much progress still to be made. FIFA\u2019s new conditions have yet to be applied on a national level in France, for example.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New FIFA policy is allowing players to start their families mid-career, while also having financial security PARIS Women footballers once felt they had to put off motherhood until their playing days were over. Now a few are starting families mid-career, with lingering resentment at their clubs replaced by a FIFA-enforced policy. Pregnant players faced slashed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-318396","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n