Nearly half of women footballers weigh early retirement, FIFPRO survey finds

Money and mental strain drive retirement thoughts

Almost half of the players in a FIFPRO survey say they are weighing an early exit from the game. The global players' union found that 49% of the 791 players surveyed were considering retiring before they had planned to, based on a study covering the 2025-26 season across 40 countries. Among them, 59% named financial reasons and 46% cited psychological stress. The report also drew on semi-structured interviews with 34 players from six regions.

Pay has risen, but unevenly

Average monthly club pay has tripled since FIFPRO's 2017 survey, reaching $2,601 once adjusted for inflation, according to the report. That growth is linked to revenue increases in leagues such as the National Women's Soccer League in the United States. The median monthly wage is $1,669, which means half of the players earn less than that figure. The union says the median gives a more accurate picture of a typical player than the average, which is pulled up by a small number of highly paid stars. The gap is sharpest in Eastern Europe, where players in ten countries earn on average less than their national minimum wage. In Western Europe, average earnings sit only slightly above minimum-wage levels.

Contracts, pensions and support

Only 56% of players have an employment contract, and 13% receive a pension provided by their club. Although 82% receive some payment from their club, only 57% say those payments cover the costs of playing, and 62% consider themselves professionals. Fifty-seven percent of respondents reported psychological problems, and half of them said their clubs gave them no support. The union wants mandatory psychological care at clubs, pointing to the NWSL, where mental health professionals are involved at every club and players can take up to six months of leave for psychological reasons. Only eight of the 30 national leagues analysed have a collective agreement setting working conditions.

What FIFPRO is asking for

Alex Culvin, FIFPRO's director for women's football, said progress is uneven across the sport.

Progress and benefits are not distributed evenly across players worldwide.

Outside the best-funded clubs, Culvin said, precarious and insecure conditions remain common, and she said 95% of players face several problems at once. FIFPRO wants binding minimum standards written into player contracts. The union also points to maternity protection rules that FIFA introduced in 2021 after FIFPRO negotiated them, which it counts as an improvement.