June 25 – The women’s professional game is getting older and more internationally mobile with the increasing influence of the leading men’s clubs in the women’s game bringing structural change.
These are the conclusions of a CIES Football Observatoryreport that examinesthe changes over the past five years in ten of the principal women’s leagues worldwide. The CIES report specifically focusses on players’ age, the percentage of expatriate footballers, as well as presence of full international players.
The CIES says that the catalyst for the change has been the money invested in the set up women’s teams by the big club brands.
“The fresh capital invested has notably stimulated the international mobility of women footballers. In the ten leagues studied, the percentage of expatriates has increased from 21.6% in 2017 to a record 33.0% in 2021,” says the CIES report.
“The increasing dominance of the traditionally men’s clubs in women’s football is clearly visible when looking at teams with the greatest number of full internationals. In the first 15 places are 14 teams whose male counterparts play in the five major European leagues.”
As the women’s game in Europe has developed, it has attracted more players from the world’s best women’s football nation, the US. In June 2021, the US had 87 players active in the championships studied. Sweden had 39 players playing abroad while Canada had 37 players overseas.
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