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Dr Alex Culvin guides players through a workshop session<\/p>\nThe Women’s Player Summit provides an opportunity for FIFPRO to get direct feedback from players from around the globe on numerous issues that affect their club and international careers
\nThe two-day event encouraged open dialogue on topics ranging from collective bargaining agreements and employment standards to maternity protections, women\u2019s health and the international match calendar
\nThe collaborative sessions allowed players to exchange perspectives and contribute directly to FIFPRO\u2019s ongoing advocacy work in these areas<\/p>\n
Seventeen professional footballers from around the world gathered in Oslo, Norway, for the 2026 FIFPRO Women\u2019s Player Summit, where discussions centred on the future of women\u2019s football and the industry issues impacting players globally.<\/p>\n
Held on 22-23 May ahead of the UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League final, the annual summit provides an important opportunity for players to exchange experiences, engage directly with FIFPRO experts and contribute to conversations shaping the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
The two-day event brought together player representatives in an environment designed to encourage collaboration, education and open dialogue on topics ranging from collective bargaining agreements and employment standards to maternity protections, women\u2019s health and the international match calendar.<\/p>\n
“Bringing players together from different leagues, nations and experiences is incredibly valuable,” said Dr Alex Culvin, FIFPRO\u2019s Director of Women\u2019s Football. “The summit creates a space where players can learn from each other, reflect on the realities of the game in different parts of the world and help shape the priorities that will drive progress across women\u2019s football.<\/p>\n
Dr Alex Culvin guides players through a workshop session<\/p>\n
“From FIFPRO\u2019s perspective, we\u2019ve got two important moments coming up in women\u2019s football in the next couple of years: the consultation of the women\u2019s international match calendar and the 2027 Women\u2019s World Cup. Player feedback is integral to the work we want to do around both of those milestones.”<\/p>\n
Global employment standards and collective bargaining in focus<\/p>\n
The first day of the summit featured an update on FIFPRO\u2019s Global Employment Report delivered by Frankie Brown, former Scotland international and FIFPRO\u2019s Head of Research and Strategy for Women\u2019s Football. The session explored ongoing trends in the professionalisation of women\u2019s football and highlighted the disparities that still exist across leagues and national team environments.<\/p>\n
Players then participated in breakout discussions before taking part in a collective bargaining agreement workshop led by Dr Culvin and FIFPRO\u2019s Director of Legal Alexandra Gomez Bruinewoud. The workshop focused on how player unions and footballers can strengthen labour protections and improve working conditions through collective action and social dialogue.<\/p>\n
The sessions encouraged players to share experiences from their domestic leagues and national teams, while also identifying common challenges and opportunities for greater collaboration between players and unions globally.<\/p>\n
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Frankie Brown leads a talk at the FIFPRO Women’s Player SummitStrategic priorities for women\u2019s football<\/p>\n
Day two focused on strategic priorities shaping the future of women\u2019s football. Players engaged in discussions around the 2027 Women\u2019s World Cup and provided feedback on the evolving international landscape of the women\u2019s game, including competition structures and player welfare considerations.<\/p>\n
Maternity regulations and women-specific health protections also formed a central part of the summit agenda. Gomez Bruinewoud and Brown presented updates on the latest developments relating to maternity rights, assisted reproduction and women\u2019s health initiatives in professional football.<\/p>\n
Attendees later joined roundtable discussions examining key strategic priorities, including:<\/p>\n
Maternity regulations and assisted reproduction
\nPost-career planning
\nWomen\u2019s health
\nThe women\u2019s international match calendar<\/p>\n
The collaborative sessions allowed players to exchange perspectives and contribute directly to FIFPRO\u2019s ongoing advocacy work in these areas. The summit concluded with a final open-floor discussion and a gathering of players ahead of the UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League final festivities in Oslo.<\/p>\n
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Elena Linari, Hayley Ladd, Rita Fontemanha and Ana Lucia MartinezWhat the players said
\nLucy Bronze (Chelsea\/England)<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve enjoyed connecting with players from around the world. I usually play with people who come from similar environments to me, so hearing stories and perspectives from different countries and continents has been valuable. It gives me a much better understanding \u2013 not just from what I see or hear about, but from listening to people\u2019s lived experiences directly.”<\/p>\n
Ana Lucia Martinez (Cruz Azul\/Guatemala)<\/p>\n
“Being around other professional players is important because you learn from their experiences. Sometimes we don\u2019t fully know the background or history of women\u2019s football, so having those conversations is valuable.”<\/p>\n
Elena Linari (London City\/Italy)<\/p>\n
“I think this is the beauty of football and the beauty of FIFPRO. You bring together players from all around the world to find one voice \u2013 or sometimes many voices and ideas. It\u2019s valuable because you can brainstorm, learn from other people\u2019s experiences, and understand the steps your country, clubs or organisations still need to take to reduce the gap. That exchange is always important.”<\/p>\n
Daphne Corboz (Paris FC\/France)<\/p>\n
“The exercise we did today on building a union \u2013 and having to choose between different services \u2013 was valuable. It was a great way to work through those decisions together as a group.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Women’s Player Summit provides an opportunity for FIFPRO to get direct feedback from players from around the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-457715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}