The Association of Bulgarian Footballers (ABF) signed a collective agreement on working conditions in women’s football with the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU). It is the second agreement by both organisations after re-signing a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for men’s football in July 2024.
"The difference is that the deal for women’s footballers is not a collective bargaining agreement, as the women’s players are amateur. It is a collective agreement that arranges the conditions for women’s footballers in our country and for our women’s national team players," said ABF Vice President Mila Hristova. "It is our first deal for women’s players, and we are very proud of this achievement."
The union and the football association used the criteria of UEFA’s Minimum Standards Framework for Women’s National Teams that ensures senior women’s national team players in Europe receive better environments and safeguards. “Our agreement is mostly the same,” said Hristova.
The framework states how associations have a duty towards players to provide quality care and sporting conditions to ensure their welfare and wellbeing while on national team duty.
It also mentions how coaches must serve the interests of women’s national team football and promote sporting excellence, that national football associations should ensure optimal training facilities and the most direct available travel routes for players, and that cooperative agreements which foster regular engagement should exist between associations and players.
The ABF and the BFU had already implemented pregnancy policies in their regulations, but they also included them in their new collective agreement.
"The players now have the best possible conditions on and off the pitch to allow them to perform in the best possible way, both in our championship and our national team," said Hristova.
Professionalising women’s football in Bulgaria still has a long way to go. Bulgaria currently occupies a modest 98th spot in the FIFA Women’s Ranking, sandwiched between Tonga and Nepal.
Hristova said: "It is very important to have this collective agreement, it shows that the development of women’s football is heading in the right direction, even though it will take some time before we can talk about professionalisation. We have taken the first important step. The players in our championship and our national team now enjoy fundamental protections."
By signing a second agreement, the ABF and BFU also illustrated that their dialogue is functioning properly. Another sign is that earlier this year, Hristova became a member of the football association’s executive committee, where she oversees and protects player rights for men’s and women’s footballers. "This position helps me and our union a lot, as it offers us the opportunity to make the player voice heard during the football association’s decision-making process," Hristova said.
