This article is co-authored by Spencer Turner of the 12KBW Sports Team and Imogen Webb, Associate Partner and Head of Sports at HF.
In recent years, women’s football has experienced an unprecedented surge in popularity and commercialisation. This growth has been beneficial in many respects, but brings to the forefront significant concerns regarding player welfare, particularly the prevalence of injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. These issues have potentially significant legal and regulatory implications.
The accelerated commercialisation of women’s football has brought increased media coverage, sponsorship deals, and investment in clubs and leagues and growth includes the expansion of competitions including the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the Women’s Super League (WSL). In England, “NewCo” is expected to take over running the WSL and Women’s Championship from the FA from the start of the 2024/25 season, with a view to maximising the commercial potential of both leagues. Average revenue per club in the WSL was £1.7m in 2020/21, and this is projected to increase to £5.7m in 2024/25.[1]
The challenges that come alongside these positive indicators of the sport’s growing recognition include, particularly, player welfare.
One of the most pressing concerns in women’s football is the high incidence of injuries, especially ACL injury rates which recent studies suggest are as much as 2-8 times[2] higher than in men’s football. Research indicates that female athletes are more susceptible to ACL tears compared to their male counterparts, often due to a combination of anatomical and biomechanical factors. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the demanding schedules and physical strains associated with professional play, training methods do not properly take into account female biomechanical factors, play on second rate pitches, and inappropriate equipment and kit (including football boots) which are designed for men’s bodies.
Commercialisation has also led to busier playing schedules, including domestic leagues, international competitions, and friendly matches. The drive to capitalise on the sport’s rising popularity has led to a more congested calendar, often leaving inadequate recovery time for players which can in turn exacerbate injury risks.
The increased exposure and financial stakes also put pressure on players to perform at peak levels consistently, sometimes at the expense of their health. For clubs, the desire to capitalise on lucrative sponsorships and broadcasting deals creates an incentive to prioritise short-term gains over long-term player welfare.
The legal position
Clubs and governing bodies have a duty of care towards their players, which includes taking reasonable steps to prevent injuries and ensure safe working conditions. This duty is particularly pertinent when considered alongside health and safety legislation requiring employers to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their employees – a category covering professional footballers.
Football clubs, governing bodies and their insurers therefore need to be focused on the following areas which could give rise to legal liability for injuries suffered by their players:
- Duty of Care and Negligence: Clubs could face claims of negligence if it is demonstrated that they breached a particular duty of care. Particular areas of risk include:
- failure to provide adequate medical care or allowing players to compete while injured
- failure to provide adequate equipment or facilities
- failure to provide appropriately trained colleagues and staff;
- failure to appropriately manage player workloads
- Contractual Obligations and Employment Law: Players’ contracts typically contain clauses related to health and fitness. Clubs must provide medical support, including injury prevention programmes and rehabilitation services. Clubs must also ensure that minimum standards are met regarding issues such as maternity pay, adoption leave, menstruation and pregnancy. FIFA has recently amended its Regulations in this regard.[3] Any failures related to these contractual obligations and minimum standards could result in legal disputes or claims for breach of contract.
- Regulatory Oversight: The Football Association (FA) and other governing bodies are responsible for setting and enforcing regulations regarding player welfare. This includes mandating minimum medical standards, scheduling requirements, and concussion protocols. These regulations must balance commercial interests with the imperative of safeguarding players’ health, and all clubs must ensure compliance to avoid regulatory intervention.
Defending legal claims
To minimise the risk of legal liability, a multifaceted approach is needed. Governing bodies and clubs must collaborate to ensure player welfare is prioritised amidst the sport’s commercial growth, including:
- Implementing Comprehensive Risk Assessments and Health and Safety Policies: Ensuring players receive adequate medical care, injury prevention training, appropriate kit and equipment, appropriate training and playing facilities, and access to mental health resources. These policies will also need to address the nuances applying to women’s football, including consideration of women’s health issues and the responsibilities of work and life outside of football.
- Regulating Match Schedules: Ensuring the calendar allows sufficient recovery time to reduce the risk of overuse injuries. We have seen recently in the men’s game that FIFPRO has begun legal proceedings against FIFA alleging that FIFA is abusing its dominant position and damaging player welfare with a schedule that is ‘beyond saturation’.
- Investing in Research: Supporting studies on injury prevention and management specific to female athletes, which can inform training and medical protocols, and the development of specialised kit.
- Enhancing Regulatory Frameworks: Governing bodies will need to strengthen regulations around player welfare, including enforcing rest periods, setting limits on the number of matches, ensuring compliance with medical standards and potentially addressing minimum payment requirements.
- Focus on grassroots: Although legal liability arising from the professional game draws most focus, the increased popularity of the professional game can be expected to increase grassroots participation. All the relevant considerations will therefore ultimately apply to all levels of the sport, although the standards expected of professional clubs will differ from those at grassroots level.
Conclusion
The commercialisation of women’s football presents both opportunities and challenges. The growth of the sport is a positive development, but it’s essential to ensure it doesn’t come at the cost of player welfare.
All stakeholders, including clubs, governing bodies, insurers and those providing legal advice to all involved parties, need to take urgent action to ensure they are focused on player welfare, adhering to robust legal and regulatory frameworks and legally protecting themselves and their players so that the sport can continue to thrive.
[1] Annual Football Review, Deloitte (June 2024)
[2] See: Arendt, E., & Dick, R. (1995). Knee Injury Patterns Among Men and Women in Collegiate Basketball and Soccer. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 23(6), 694-701 and Prodromos, C. C., Han, Y., Rogowski, J., Joyce, B., & Shi, K. (2007). A meta-analysis of the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament tears as a function of gender, sport, and a knee injury-reduction regimen. Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery, 23(12), 1320-1325.
[3] FIFA Council Approves Women’s International Match Calendar, FIFA (15 May 2024)