Cape Town
\nThe average annual salary for a female professional soccer player globally is $10,900, says FIFA\u2019s annual report on the women\u2019s game, a figure skewed by a small number of top clubs.
\nAmong 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 \u201cSetting the Pace, FIFA Benchmarking Report on Women\u2019s Football\u201d released on Monday.
\nThe highest of those salaries was approximately $120,000.
\nThe average gross salary, however, at Tier 2 and 3 clubs was $4,361 and $2,805, respectively.
\n\u201cThere 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,\u201d the report said.
\nTier 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.
\n\u201cA longer contract enables players to commit to a club and a location, giving them more stability so they can focus on their footballing careers,\u201d said the report.
\nIt also highlighted attendances as an area of concern.<\/p>\n
League record
\nWhile Arsenal hosted Manchester United in front of a Women\u2019s 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.
\nArsenal 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.
\n\u201cFor 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,\u201d the report said.
\nWomen 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.
\nFIFA President Gianni Infantino said the report helps clubs, leagues and stakeholders gain a better understanding of the factors that drive success.
\n\u201cThe strides made in recent years have been remarkable, but there is still more work to be done to unlock its full potential,\u201d he said.
\nSurveys for \u201cSetting the Pace\u201d were sent to 135 leagues and 1,518 clubs, with a total of 677 clubs in 90 leagues responding.
\nFIFA tiers were determined by factors such as whether the league had a club licensing system, the number of a league\u2019s players who featured in the 2023 Women\u2019s World Cup and a member association\u2019s total budget for women\u2019s football among others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cape Town The average annual salary for a female professional soccer player globally is $10,900, says FIFA\u2019s annual report on the women\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-467874","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n