January 13 – On the road to equality, the Chilean women’s national team have signed an agreement with the country’s FA (ANFP) to improve their working conditions.
The equity agreement does not cover equal pay, but ensures minimum conditions in preparation and labour rights ahead of Copa America Femenina in Brazil this year when it comes to infrastructure, travel, accommodation and backroom staff.
“For us, it’s something historic because it guarantees us conditions to be able to perform and prepare ourselves in an ideal way,” said Chile’s captain Yanara Aedo, in a statement to Fifpro.
“The truth is that we have been through everything, obviously as a national team it has been a big struggle and now that we have achieved what we expected, we are happy because it will clearly have a positive impact. As a group today we have something agreed with the federation that guarantees us to be able to perform in the best possible way.”
In 2019, the team qualified for the first time for the Women’s World Cup and two years later they debuted at the Olympic Women’s tournament in Tokyo. This summer they take on Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay and Peru in Group A of the continental finals. In future, the team wants to tackle other pressing issues, including maternity, mental health and greater accessibility for fans.
“This is a generation that has pushed for important changes, but one that is not satisfied and wants to continue fighting with the main powers at international level,” said Camila García of the players’ union in Chile. “That requires raising the standards and that is what this agreement does initially: to close the gaps and provide greater equity in the treatment of the teams.”
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