‘We’re really happy’: Italy’s female footballers on new professional status

When Sara Gama and her Juventus Women teammates played for the first time at the club’s Allianz Stadium in Turin in March 2019, she knew the moment marked a significant leap forward in the acceptance of women’s football in Italy. More than 39,000 spectators filled the stadium, which until then had only been played in by men, breaking the previous 14,000 record for a women’s match in Italy. To top off the occasion, Juventus beat Fiorentina 1-0.

“There was a lot of emotion because it was the first time we played in such a big stadium, and in front of so many people,” said Gama, a celebrated defender who captains Juventus Women and the Italy women’s team. “We were aware that we were making history … but it wasn’t the only important thing that had happened in women’s football.”

Juventus Women were formed two years earlier after it became obligatory for top-flight men’s clubs to have a women’s team. In addition, the match at the Allianz came on the heels of the national side qualifying for a place in the 2019 Women’s World Cup for the first time in two decades.

Now Gama and her fellow Serie A female colleagues are celebrating another epoch-making change after finally being upgraded to professional status by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). The change ends years of top-division female players earning capped salaries due to being recognised only as amateur athletes, and takes effect from 1 July, in time for the next season.

Gama, 33, was among those who fought hard for the upgrade, which removes a gross salary cap of €30,000 a season and entitles the women to contracts that include social security contributions such as health insurance and pensions.

The minimum wage currently agreed for a Serie A player aged between 19