Financial, mental health issues pushing women towards early retirement

MANCHESTER, England, Oct 12 : Nearly half of women's footballers are considering leaving the game early, with financial pressures and mental health struggles the main reasons, according to a FIFPRO report highlighting the gulf between the sport's rapid growth and conditions for most players.

The 2026 FIFPRO Global Employment Report "Working Conditions in Women's Football", billed by the global players' union as the most extensive review of working conditions in the women's game in a decade, interviewed 800 players worldwide and found stark disparities.

Some 49 per cent of players surveyed said they were considering leaving football earlier than planned. Of those, 59 per cent cited their financial situation as a reason and 46 per cent pointed to psychological stress.

"The women's football industry has come a long way," FIFPRO Director of Women's Football Alex Culvin said. "(But) for 95 per cent (of players), the rest of the industry, there is a hell of a long way to go."

While inflation-adjusted average monthly club wages have tripled since FIFPRO's previous global study in 2017 to $2,601, the median is substantially lower at $1,669, illustrating what the report describes as "uneven and fragmented" growth.

In 10 Eastern European countries analysed, average salaries remain below the national minimum wage. Even in Western Europe and Asia/Oceania, which include some of the game's bigger markets, average pay is not significantly higher than national minimum wages, according to FIFPRO.

"The professionalisation of women’s football is accelerating in some parts of the world and revenues are increasing, however, the progress and benefits are not evenly distributed among players across the world," Culvin said.

The report found only 56