The Hidden Economy of Semi-Professional Women’s Football

Women’s football is often framed as a rapidly expanding success story, marked by rising visibility, increasing audiences, and growing commercial interest. Yet beneath this narrative lies a complex and precarious “hidden economy”, particularly within semi-professional and lower-tier women’s football.

This economy is characterised by high levels of passion and development potential, alongside profound structural, financial, and employment insecurity.

While top-flight leagues such as the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) have benefited from professionalisation and investment, the tiers below continue to rely on a fragile mix of amateur, semi-professional, and subsided labour.

Structural Dependence and Financial Fragility  

A defining feature of the hidden economy is the continued financial dependence of many women’s teams on men’s football. Women’s sides are frequently subsidised by parent men’s clubs, leaving them financially non-autonomous. This dependence creates significant vulnerability: if a men’s team encounters financial difficulty, loses sponsorship, or withdraws support, the future of the women’s team can be immediately jeopardised. As a result, women’s football often remains structurally marginal within clubs, reinforcing instability across the pyramid.

“Love of the Game” Labour and Employment Precarity  

Women’s football is frequently treated as flexible, low-priority labour, sustained by players’ “love of the game” rather than secure employment conditions. Many athletes commit to professional-level training regimes while simultaneously balancing second jobs or academic study. In numerous cases, players operate without formal contracts, basic worker protections, or guaranteed pay. Research suggests that around 50% of elite female athletes globally lack a formal contract, while over 60% of paid players earn less than $600 per month. 

This precarity extends beyond wages. Players are often expected to fund essential aspects of participation themselves, including equipment, medical costs, and travel. Approximately 61% of players report paying for their own equipment, further underscoring the hidden costs of professionalisation.

Uneven Commercialisation and Resource Inequality

Commercial growth within women’s football has been unevenly distributed. While elite teams benefit from improved sponsorship, broadcasting deals, and increased attendance, lower-tier clubs frequently lack access to adequate facilities and infrastructure. Many teams are forced to operate in smaller, inferior venues, limiting gate receipts, sponsorship opportunities, and long-term player development.

Despite these inequalities, women’s sport is experiencing a broader financial “boom”, with global earnings projected to reach £1.88 billion by 2025. This growth is driven by increased media rights, commercial sponsorship, and rising-though inconsistent-matchday attendance. However, this financial expansion has not translated evenly across the football pyramid, leaving semi-professional and grassroots levels exposed to volatility and underinvestment.

Key Barriers Within the Hidden Economy

Several systematic issues continue to shape the hidden economy of semi-professional women’s football:

Low Wages: Even where players are considered “professional”, pay often falls far below that of male counterparts, despite equivalent training demands and commitment.  

Middle-class barriers: The cost of participation-often around £50 per week in youth academies-has historically excluded talented players from lower-income backgrounds.

Lack of long-term investment: Short-term sponsorship deals and inconsistent funding hinder clubs’ ability to plan, professionalise, and provide secure employment.

Gender bias: Women’s teams frequently receive less funding, media attention, and institutional support due to football’s traditionally male-dominated structures.

The Hidden Economy of Travel

One of the most overlooked aspects of this hidden economy is the financial and personal burden of travel. In semi-professional women’s football, particularly in UK leagues spanning tiers 3 to 7, players are often responsible for funding their own transportation to training sessions and matches, which can occur multiple times per week.  

Reimbursements, where offered, are frequently insufficient. Some players travel over 800 miles per week for as little as £50-far below standard mileage rates. In many lower divisions, players receive no travel compensation at all and may also be required to pay membership fees to cover equipment and pitch hire. In grassroots settings, players are sometimes expected to pay upfront for expenses such as coaching qualifications, creating additional financial strain.  

This disparity is especially pronounced in clubs that operate both men’s and women’s teams, where funding priorities often favour the men’s side. While HMRC guidelines allow tax-free travel reimbursements for non-contracted players, these provisions offer little relief if clubs do not provide compensation in the first place.

Unpaid Labour and Dual Careers  

Globally, the hidden economy of women’s football is sustained by unpaid or underpaid labour. Around half of female footballers worldwide receive no salary from their teams. Instead, many rely on secondary employment or external support to fund their participation. Approximately one-third of players work other jobs, while nearly half are engaged in education or training alongside football.

This dual-career structure creates a significant pressure. Players often work 50–60-hour weeks, balancing elite training schedules with demanding employment. Annual earnings for semi-professional players can range from as little as £6,000 to £10,000, necessitating additional income streams. Common secondary jobs include coaching, personal training, office-based roles, and service industry work that offers flexibility around training commitments.

Welfare, Health, and Career Longevity

The hidden economy also has serious implications for player welfare. Inadequate facilities remain widespread: surveys indicate that 25% of players lack suitable changing rooms, 40% do not have consistent access to pitches, and 64% lack a dedicated trainer. Medical provision is often limited, with some players expected to train or compete while injured due to financial constraints.

Health and maternity protections have historically been insufficient, and although FIFA has introduced maternity regulations, many players continue to advocate for consistent implementation at club level. The cumulative effects of physical strain, financial insecurity, and limited recovery time frequently result in burnout, chronic fatigue, and early retirement-often before the age of 30. This leads to a significant loss of talent and hinders the overall development and quality of the women’s game.

Conclusion: Two Parallel Realities

The hidden economy of semi-professional women’s football reveals two parallel realities. On one hand, the sport is experiencing unprecedented growth in visibility, commercial interest, and cultural relevance. On the other, many players continue to operate within precarious, underpaid, and unsupported conditions, affectively funding their own careers despite the narrative of progress.

Professionalisation has not eliminated precarity; rather, it has reshaped it. Without sustained, long-term investment and equitable employment structures across the entire football pyramid, financial growth alone will fail to realise the full potential of the women’s game. To move beyond this hidden economy, women’s football must prioritise stable, fair, and inclusive working conditions that match its expanding global profile.