Women's football in Italy becomes a profession

Yesterday, the FIGC Federal Council announced an epoch-making turning point that will unify the women's Serie A with the other European leagues, such as those of England, France, Sweden and Spain, making the players professional athletes. This is the first time this has happened in the history of Italian sports and it could be the starting point for a new dimension of women's sports in Italy.

Until now, in fact, female football players were classified as amateurs, meaning that their compensation was given in the form of reimbursements and private agreements and contractual forms that did not guarantee social security compensation, insurance protection and collective bargaining. As a result, they will now pay contributions and be eligible for pension coverage at the end of their working careers.

From July 1 will come this decisive turning point that League President Gabriele Gravina called "an important day, the process for women's soccer is definitive, finally there are the rules governing the activity and exercise of professionalism in women's football." A project that began in 2019, after the World Cup in which the Italian selection made it all the way to the quarterfinals, and that took time given that professionalism provides for the achievement of widespread economic sustainability among teams and leagues. 

"Today we are the first federation in Italy to start and implement this important path. There has been a little resistance from the A League, which believed in proposing a possible postponement, but then we reached an agreement because there was no turning back. When you deliberate on something you have to be consistent," added Gravina. The next step will be the adhesion of the 12 teams of the women's Serie A, which will have to become capital companies, or go down in category. 

According to rumors in La Gazzetta dello Sport, the minimum salaries have already been decided and will be standardized with those of the men's Serie C, 20,263 euros gross per season for 19 year olds and 26,664 euros gross per season for 24 year olds, while La Repubblica specifies how an 80 thousand euro guarantee and a 500-seat stadium will be required for registration.

The passage to professionalism will raise the costs of the clubs by about 80%, and it will not be easy to find the resources for a movement still dependent on public funding, both state and through the FIGC. But the images of the match between Barcelona and Wolfdburg in front of almost 92000 spectators allow us to hope for a rosy future for women's football in Italy as well.