Monday, September 16, 2024, 11:06 | Updated 16:07h.
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«I have 27 million followers on social media. I used to be afraid, but now I think I can do a lot for the development of women’s football.» Alisha Lehmann is one of the most popular faces in the world of football, and as such she has wanted to raise her voice to complain about what she considers an injustice in women’s football. Her boyfriend, the footballer Douglas Luiz, earns a hundred thousand times more than her. The difference between them is a living example of the great gap that still exists in terms of economic volume between men’s and women’s football.
«We do the same job. Obviously we have a long way to go, because there may never be equal pay. I think it will take time and the will of many who will have to strongly want a change in this regard», criticised the Swiss forward of Juventus of Turin, the team for which her partner also plays, in the Italian media. Both were in the news at the beginning of this summer after their departure from Aston Villa in an unprecedented operation. Although the exact salary of the couple is unknown, it is known that the Old Lady put 50,000 euros on the table for the transfer of the media-savvy Swiss player and 50 million for the Brazilian.
“If someone comes to me with jokes about women’s football, I always ask them ‘have you ever watched a match?’ Probably not, because when you watch a match you realise how good and passionate we are. I don’t know why people still think like that, it’s 2024 and maybe some still live behind the mountains or the trees, I don’t know,” said Lehman, one of the biggest influencers in the world of football.
The footballer wants to use her voice to improve conditions in women’s football, just as other important personalities have done, such as the Americans Alex Morgan, Hope Solo or Megan Rapinoe, or the Spanish Alexia Putellas or Aitana Bonmatí, the last two winners of the Ballon d’Or. In recent times, the federations of several countries such as the USA, Australia, Denmark, England, Norway, France, Canada or Japan have taken important steps to ensure that the men’s and women’s teams receive the same amount. The Spanish Federation promised two years ago that it would equalise the percentages of bonuses for the women’s and men’s teams, which does not necessarily mean receiving the same amount as they do not generate the same amount. “The money that reaches the women’s categories is much less than that which reaches the boys,” confirmed Luis Rubiales, former president of the organisation.
A good example of the wage gap is currently in Spain’s Liga F, where a minimum salary of 21,000 euros was set for the 2023-24 season, although this could increase to 23,000 depending on the growth of the competition’s commercial income. On the other hand, the minimum salary for Primera División players continues to grow season by season. The new agreement set a minimum of 186,000 euros for the current season, which will grow year by year until reaching 195,000 euros in 2025-26. Mbappé’s salary would be equivalent to that of 608,695 female footballers in our country and 22 times that of Alexia Putellas, the highest-paid female footballer in Spanish football.
According to FIFPRO, 47% of women are not paid for playing football, and only 10% have a decent salary that allows them to make a living from sport.
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