New FIFPRO Asia/Oceania report assesses experience of women’s players in Asian club competition

• Report identifies challenges facing women’s players participating in Asian club competition
  
  
• FIFPRO Asia/Oceania provides three recommendations to enhance competitions
  
  
• Report launched ahead of inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League, commencing Sunday 25 August

FIFPRO Asia/Oceania has today released a report assessing players’ experiences during the 2023/24 AFC Women’s Club Championship (AWCC).

The report, Lessons from the AFC Women’s Club Championship, gathers insights from 88 players from the eight clubs who competed in last season’s invitational tournament. The competition served as a pilot for the 2024/25 AFC Women’s Champions League, which begins on Sunday.

The report provides a comprehensive overview of players’ careers, profiles, and experiences in Asia’s continental club competition. It also examines key aspects such as professional status, remuneration and working conditions.

Additionally, the report analyses the AWCC format, scheduling, finances, and the 2024 AWCC final, offering valuable insights ahead of the AFC Women’s Champions League's inaugural season.

Key Findings

• Less than two-thirds (62%) of players identified as professional players;
• Less than half earned over USD 10,000 annually from football;
• One quarter (25%) indicated football was not their primary source of income;
• Over half of the players reported that the AWCC disrupted their domestic league schedules last season, with some players facing financial losses due to conflicts with non-football employment;
• Despite satisfactory accommodation, concerns were raised regarding local transport, high-performance facilities, and overall tournament readiness. 27% rated local transport as poor and 23% reported excessive strain from the tournament format.

Commenting on the report’s findings, FIFPRO Asia/Oceania Chair Takuya Yamazaki said: "The report highlights the players’ continued commitment to the development and growth of football across the region, but equally it illustrates the enormous challenges faced by female footballers.

"Participating in continental club competitions in Asia significantly impacts players, whether through increased workload, fixture disruption, or challenges in balancing football with other commitments.

"The tournament’s schedule and structure must consider the semi-professional status of many female players to minimise disruption and reduce, rather than compound, the financial strain these players are feeling.

"The AFC's unilateral decision-making must change to ensure the success of continental competitions. We continue to recommend a genuine partnership between professional footballers, clubs, leagues, and the AFC, which is crucial to unlocking the potential of Asian football."

FIFPRO Global and Asia/Oceania board member, former Australia international and 2010 AFC Women’s Player of the Year Kathryn Gill said: "The players share the same interests as the AFC and the broader region in seeking to develop the women’s game across Asia as swiftly as possible.

"Whilst the potential of the women’s game in Asia is immense, we must ensure it is developed in a way that is responsive to the lived realities illustrated in this report. This can only occur through establishing a genuine partnership between the AFC, leagues, clubs and players, and not through unilaterally overlaying regulations that are fit for men’s competitions onto female competitions."