Three days after the debut of the Colombian National Team in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand 2023, The Colombian Association of Professional Soccer Players (Acolfutpro) presented a report on the working conditions of the players participating in the Women’s League.
The association reviewed and studied the conditions in which the tournament was held, between February 5 and June 30, with a title for Independiente Santa Fe, which defeated América de Cali in the final. 406 footballers played for at least one minute in this edition of the championship.
Acolfutpro concluded that, although there has been progress in terms of working conditions, there are still many things to improve.
The situation of employment contracts in the Women’s League
“Not all clubs formalize work contracts with the entire squad of registered soccer players, covered by the tournament regulations. This was demonstrated by the conclusions of the reports from past leagues, a reality that was maintained for this year, ”says the report.
According to the study, 10 of the 17 clubs that participated in this edition of the League, 57 percent, formalized work contracts with all the registered players. In 2002, it was only 7 of 17 (41 percent).
“The list is headed by four clubs that have always opted for women’s soccer and that completed their seventh consecutive participation, that is, they have competed in all editions of the league such as Santa Fe, América de Cali, La Equidad and Real Santander. The other six clubs that also made contracts for all their players were Deportivo Cali, Atlético Nacional, Deportivo Pereira, Junior, Llaneros and Boyacá Chicó”, explains Acolfutpro.
AMERICA OF CALI FEMALE.
JUAN PABLO RUEDA. TIME.
The association reported the working conditions of the players. All the clubs, this time, provided the necessary clothing and all had the appropriate fields to train on. Six of them, Nacional, América, Santa Fe, Cali, Junior and La Equidad, also had exclusive dressing rooms for the women’s team.
Regarding transportation for training, “Five clubs provided transportation services for their soccer players to and from the training site: Nacional, América, Santa Fe, Pereira, and Junior. Three teams offered transportation subsidies to their workers and the rest did not provide this service or financial assistance. In the case of Millionaires, the footballers did not have a route from the club and had difficulties because there are no public transport routes to the sports center where they train”.
The second conclusion of Acolfutpro has to do with the duration of the tournament, which is still far from ideal. “Despite the fact that since the previous year there was talk of having a longer championship, or of doing two in the year, The BetPlay 2023 Women’s League was once again a very short tournament, lasting only 126 days (until the final). For those who only played the first phase, it was only 108 days. This is a very brief period that prevents them from achieving job stability, with a dignified and permanent income, as men have”, says the report.
📒 We present the report on the 2023 Women’s League with data collected on hiring and working conditions of the #WomenFootballers in the 17 participating clubs, as well as the preparation, organization, development and statistics of the seventh edition of the contest.… pic.twitter.com/XTTqGDBF21
—ACOLFUTPRO (@acolfutpro) July 21, 2023
This factor, according to the union, forces the players to “look for different job alternatives and often takes them out of soccer.”
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