European football association UEFA has revealed details of the first-ever minimum standards framework for women’s national teams. It was prepared together with players, coaches and FIFPro Europe, and was approved by the Executive Committee of the organization in June. The purpose of creating minimum requirements is to equalize the conditions for men and women.
“Today is the culmination of our four-year plan for the development of women’s football, called ‘Time For Action'”, said the UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin in a statement to players, media and fans. “We have made important progress, but we are now looking straight to the next steps. Moving forward, UEFA will fully support the regional federations and the players themselves”, added he.
The minimum standards framework affects the management of federations, coaching, training, medical care, human relations and remuneration for female national team players. The program is supported by UEFA’s “Hattrick” initiative and under it the national federations will receive 22 million EUR until 2028. This makes 100,000 EUR per year for an individual national association.
The minimum standards drawn up by UEFA oblige federations to provide access to training facilities, use all dates for international matches and prioritize shorter, direct journeys. Each national team must have at least one doctor and two physiotherapists at all matches and training sessions. Federations are required to standardize remuneration and draw up a clear policy on the rights of parents and pregnant women, as well as anti-discrimination.
“We want to provide the players with the best possible conditions not only on the field, but also off it. Only then will they be able to play at the top of their abilities when they are with the national teams”, said UEFA Women’s Football Director Nadine Kessler.
