Minimum salaries for players in the top two tiers of professional women’s football in England are being introduced for the first time this season.
It is one of the requirements brought in by WSL Football – the company overseeing England’s professional leagues.
WSL Football would not disclose what the minimum level will be, but it is described as a “full-time wage”.
It is expected the salary range will be made public when the updated WSL and WSL 2 regulations are published later this season.
The salaries will be based on thresholds such as the age of players, what league they are playing in, and their experience in the game following consultation with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA).
“We feel that’s a really positive move. We have so many players who have had to juggle part-time roles while playing football,” WSL Football’s chief operating officer Holly Murdoch told BBC Sport.
“Being able to ensure all our players can earn a full-time wage from football is very, very important. I would say it’s the start as it’s a framework we can develop on.
“We have worked really closely with the PFA on what those thresholds should look like. We will be reviewing that constantly.”
On top of minimum salary requirements, clubs must meet increased criteria around high-performance environments.
It comes after a multi-year partnership was agreed between WSL Football and Nike. Part of the agreement will see Nike provide football boots and goalkeeper gloves to all players in the WSL and WSL 2 who do not have an endorsement deal.
There is also a new collaboration with external company Kyniska Advocacy – an athlete-led organisation aimed at evolving new standards for safeguarding.
All players will gain access to their confidential support service as an independent route for raising welfare concerns.
“We know that due to the fact the game has grown so rapidly, we have disparity. Part of that creates a competitive advantage, so there are elements we have to mandate,” added Murdoch.
“One of the requirements will be to have a ‘performance wellbeing’ role. We will be asking all clubs to employ that role full-time by the end of this season.
“We want to make sure we are preparing our players for life on the pitch, both mentally and physically, as well as off it. That role is critical.”
The 2025-26 WSL season begins on Friday as champions Chelsea face Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, on the back of England winning a second consecutive European Championship title.
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