BREAKING NEW GROUND: NAVIGATING REGULATIONS AND LEGAL BATTLES IN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL

This article has been authored by Ms. Manisha Bharathi Ranganathan

Introduction:

The graph of women’s football went off the roof with the unprecedented success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, 2019. Reflecting on the impact that the game could have in the near future, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said, “Women’s football is now entering its next stage of development. It follows that we also have to adopt a regulatory framework that is appropriate and suitable to the needs of the women’s game.” FIFA was finally looking at establishing rules and regulations to safeguard women footballers and give them the best shot at long-term achievements and career opportunities.

The issues that have plagued women’s football till date include discrimination in pay and facilities, harassment, lack of representation, absence of maternity and parental policies, ambiguity in players’ status, training compensation etc. Following is an overview of a few of the aforementioned issues that have attracted  new regulations or emphasised the need for the same, how such issues can be managed and necessary developments to achieve a holistic framework.

Ambiguity in a female footballer’s status:

In football, a player is either a professional or an amateur. As per Article 2 of the FIFA RSTP, “A professional is a player who has a written contract with a club and is paid more for his footballing activity than the expenses he effectively incurs. All other players are considered to be amateurs.” From time immemorial, many female footballers with a written contract, playing in a top division league or even professionally representing their country, do not receive remuneration and the ones that do receive it, take up part-time jobs to make a living. As per law, these players remain amateurs because their expenses far exceed what they are paid for their football activities.

 FIFPRO reported that , “in many places, female players are treated as amateurs despite making ‘professional’ commitments, meaning that they are not afforded the appropriate benefits and protections. Likewise, many elite female players are not given the appropriate benefits even when they are treated as professionals.” In case a female footballer is granted the status of a professional, they are put under the pressure of job insecurity. These players are scrutinized constantly to ensure that they keep proving, through their activities, that they deserve the status of a professional and to ensure that they accept sub-standard treatment and arrangements and remain grateful for the opportunity. It can be agreed that, in order for the players’ statuses to be duly recognised and for them to benefit from the same, the achievement of FIFA’s objective of ‘accelerating the professionalisation of women’s football’ is essential.

Training Compensation:

Training compensation, paid with a motive of developing young players and determined on a pro-rata basis, is payable by the club that registers a player as a professional for the first time to his training clubs (that he has trained with, since the beginning of the calendar year of his 12^th birthday), at the instance of registration as a professional and at instances of his transfer, up until the end of the calendar year of his 23rd birthday.

Determination of status of the player is important for determining training compensation and to decide the status, the remuneration received by the player is key. In women’s football, as elucidated above, both these correlated factors have been ambiguous and unfairly decided upon. This is one of the main reasons powering Article 20 of the FIFA RSTP to state that training compensation does not apply to women’s football. Women’s football has not yet been commercialised, even to the required extent. FIFA opined that, since women’s football scenario is entirely different from the men’s, this training compensation scheme could prove detrimental to the players and the development of the game.

Recently, FIFA Circular No. 1885 indicated that the idea of a training compensation scheme for women’s football has been approved and for it to be designed to serve the needs precisely, clubs had to fill up a survey collecting data about female players’ training costs and other financial data.

Maternity Rights:

A footballer is just another employed worker, doing his/ her job. The player, as a worker, has every right to have children, without the job being a hurdle. This, alongside FIFPRO’s (the International Federation of Professional Footballers) Global Employment Report of 2017, which indicated female players quitting the game due to lack of legal protection and support during and after pregnancy, marked the kick-off of the ever-evolving maternity and parental policies under the FIFA RSTP.

The first set of regulations pertaining to maternity leave, pay, rights and benefits came into effect on the 1^st of January 2021. June 2024 saw the implementation of the next set of regulations on professional women football players’ work conditions, with a focus on maternity rights. These rules are equally applicable to female football coaches as well. Article 18quater of the RSTP introduces specific/ exclusive provisions for female players. By virtue of her rights, a pregnant player can:

 

1. 1. Participate in competitions and continue providing her services to the sport in concurrence with the advice of her medical practitioner.

1. 1. Provide alternate services in the event of not being able to continue her activities as a footballer.

1. 1. Select her maternity leave period without any undue influence or force from the part of the club.

1. 1. Return to resuming her activities as a footballer at her convenience and upon obtaining approval from her medical practitioner, post maternity.

While the player exercises the aforementioned rights, the club becomes obligated to respect and accommodate the player’s decision and especially, make necessary arrangements, prioritizing her health and safety while participating during pregnancy, secure conditions and surroundings for breastfeeding etc.

Maternity leave and Remuneration:

Maternity Leave, as defined under the FIFA RSTP, refers to “a minimum period of 14 weeks’ paid absence granted to a female player due to her pregnancy, of which a minimum of eight weeks must occur after the birth of the child.” Through the new regulations introduced in June 2024, non-biological mothers are also entitled to around two to eight weeks of maternity leave, depending on the age of the child. Until a player avails her maternity leave, she is entitled to full remuneration. Upon availing maternity leave, the player shall receive two-thirds of her contracted remuneration. If there are additional maternity benefits entailed in the national law, then those shall be applicable [Article 18(7) of the RSTP].

Exceptions to Registration:

It is general practice that footballers are registered during the bi-annual transfer windows that are scheduled by the national football federations/ associations. However, female players can be registered outside the scheduled windows, when the club is looking for a temporary replacement for the player who availed her maternity leave [Article 6(3)(c) of the RSTP] and when the club is re-assimilating the player for resumption of football activities post maternity [Article 6(3)(d) of the RSTP].

Recourses available to a pregnant female player:

The developments made in regulations for the female players clearly connotate that preference must be set on facilitating a smooth exercise of the player’s right to return to post maternity, alongside maintaining the sporting integrity of the competition [Article 6(6) of the RSTP]. The most important aspect to be understood here is that the validity of a female player’s contract is not dependent upon her pregnancy or upon exercise of maternal rights and benefits. According to FIFA RSTP, a club unilaterally terminating the contract of a female player citing her pregnancy as the cause will not qualify as ‘termination with just cause.’ In this regard, FIFA shall:

 

• • Direct the club to pay compensation to the player.

• • Apply on the club the sanctions available under Article 17 of the FIFA RSTP, inclusive of banning the registration of new national as well as international players for two consecutive registration periods.

In instances where a club does not cooperate with the pregnant player, she can opt for negotiation to resolve the issue. In case the negotiation does not prove fruitful, then she can approach the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC). If she wishes to deal with the issue at her national level, she can approach the appropriate football dispute resolution body in her country, provided that these regulations are implemented in the national level as well.

Hinderances to the national level implementation/ application of maternity regulations:

It is well codified that the provisions of the RSTP are enforceable globally, in accordance with RSTP Article 1.3(a). Each member association is free to establish more robust and higher measures that safeguard female players under their national legislation, while a minimum level is to be implemented internationally. A National Federation/ Association’s laxity in implementation cannot result in a negative effect on a player. The players have adequate protection because the FIFA RSTP recognizes the elucidated rights. No player’s rights may be taken away from her, even if these are not implemented on a national level. Lack of detailed awareness and bad faith have been the standout reasons for clubs to have failed to honour and implement these regulations. Furthermore, FIFA does not have a mechanism for check in place (sanctions, for instance) for the national federations that have not complied with the revised provisions of the RSTP.

Way Forward:

In order to bring out the best in players, it is necessary to invest in them (emotionally and financially), which in turn will keep them in the game and lead towards improvement and development in the way the game is perceived. All the issues discussed point at the need for equity and not equality. Equity addresses individual needs and challenges (in this case, in men’s and women’s football separately), thereby creating a level playing field, after which the same regulations shall be fit to apply to both men and women. Here is what can be done to address the issues explained above:

 

• • Accelerate professionalisation of women’s football by proper marketing for commercialisation and an increase in viewership, thereby allowing the game to afford better on and off-field facilities.

• • Treat a female player as a professional if she has a written contract and if her income enables her to focus solely on football activities, without pursuing other earning options. This could be done until women’s football achieves the envisioned professionalism.

• • A provision could be introduced to cover and extend contracts which are due to expire during pregnancy, so as to guarantee her return to the club after maternity.

• • A mutually beneficial consensus could be sought to address the situation of both the football club and the player with regards to paid maternity leave:

In a normal job, it is possible to work almost up until labour, but since playing football requires excessive physical activity, it is usually advised by medical practitioners that the player shall cease playing there to four months into the pregnancy. By rule, if eight weeks of the minimum fourteen have to be taken post-partum, then it leaves only 6 weeks that can be used during pregnancy. Meanwhile, majority of the clubs, with the state of affairs in women’s football, cannot afford to grant paid leave for the entire duration of pregnancy. At this juncture, an easy remedy to resolve this situation does not exist. To reach common ground, regulations could be amended to mandate an extended period of maternity leave (say 5-6 months), and clubs could be given the option of mitigating financial strain by adopting insurance policies (by including maternity in the scope of policies which are usually taken up for player injuries), as pregnancy is seen as an ACL injury in the football circuit due to the recovery period involved.

While regulations in these regards are the much-required progress to ensuring financial security for female players, the culture and the mindsets that they deal with, also require immense transformation, for a progressive change in the game.