Women’s football faces ‘almost existential threat’, report says
Paris: The coronavirus pandemic presents "an almost existential threat" to women's football, according to a report by global players' union FIFPro published Thursday.
Female players the world over, like their male counterparts, have been forced to stop playing with countries going into lockdown to try to halt the spread of the virus, which has claimed more than 134,000 lives according to an AFP tally.
Much attention has been given to the economic impact on the far richer men's game of the suspension, but FIFPro warns that women's football -- despite recent growth -- is particularly vulnerable, with less established professional leagues, lower salaries and less investment meaning "the fragility of the women's football eco-system is exposed by the current situation".
FIFPro has called for "special measures" to safeguard the women's game as it says its growth "is now at risk of receding. Without having secured solid structural foundations for long-term sustainability, some women's leagues and clubs are releasing players, cutting contracts and closing down." - AFP