Team captains from the top two French women’s football leagues have criticised slow progress in negotiations for better working conditions for professional female footballers.
Issued on: 22/04/2026 - RFI
Captains from the 24 teams in France's top two professional divisions signed an open letter calling on football league and club bosses to ensure better working conditions for female professional football players. AFP - SEBASTIEN DUPUY
By: Paul Myers
In an open letter published in the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, the captains say there is a lack of security for women's teams in the professional game.
They also say that despite the creation of the Women’s Professional Football League (LFFP) in July 2024, football authorities are not acting fast enough to improve the women's professional game.
"Efforts have been made since the creation of the LFFP, we acknowledge that," say the captains in the letter.
"But the essential element is missing: a collective agreement. In 2026, professional female players still do not have one. We play the same sport. We train to the same high standards. We face the same physical demands and the same risks. And yet, we do not enjoy the same protections."
Blame game
The players’ union, the UNFP, and Foot Unis, which represents the clubs, blame each other for the gridlock.
Player representatives say they want a collective agreement to be signed before the start of the 2026/2027 season in September.
They say the swift creation of a collective agreement framework for the new third tier of men's football shows that speed is possible.
"Whilst men’s football moves forward, we are asked to wait," wrote the captains. "This is not a question of priority. It is a question of choice.
"This discrepancy raises questions. It is no longer understandable. It is no longer acceptable," they added. "We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for a fair framework. A collective agreement is not a perk. It is an essential foundation."
The letter also complains about the financing of women's professional teams, citing the fates of Soyaux and Bordeaux – whose professional women's teams were broken up in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
"These situations are no accident," the letter adds. "They reveal a reality we all face: in French professional football, women’s teams are all too often the first to be cut when budgets are tightened. This structural vulnerability has a name: the lack of a collective agreement."
Vincent Ponsot, president of the women’s football committee at Foot Unis, told French news agency AFP that club bosses and league administrators were still thrashing out details on image rights, after cutting a deal on issues such as end-of-career severance pay and payments while players are injured.
Ponsot, who is is also managing director of Arkema Première Ligue pacesetters OL Lyonnes, added: “I’m not surprised the players are getting impatient because this situation is unacceptable."
By: Paul Myers
In an open letter published in the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, the captains say there is a lack of security for women's teams in the professional game.
They also say that despite the creation of the Women’s Professional Football League (LFFP) in July 2024, football authorities are not acting fast enough to improve the women's professional game.
"Efforts have been made since the creation of the LFFP, we acknowledge that," say the captains in the letter.
"But the essential element is missing: a collective agreement. In 2026, professional female players still do not have one. We play the same sport. We train to the same high standards. We face the same physical demands and the same risks. And yet, we do not enjoy the same protections."
Blame game
The players’ union, the UNFP, and Foot Unis, which represents the clubs, blame each other for the gridlock.
Player representatives say they want a collective agreement to be signed before the start of the 2026/2027 season in September.
They say the swift creation of a collective agreement framework for the new third tier of men's football shows that speed is possible.
"Whilst men’s football moves forward, we are asked to wait," wrote the captains. "This is not a question of priority. It is a question of choice.
"This discrepancy raises questions. It is no longer understandable. It is no longer acceptable," they added. "We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for a fair framework. A collective agreement is not a perk. It is an essential foundation."
The letter also complains about the financing of women's professional teams, citing the fates of Soyaux and Bordeaux – whose professional women's teams were broken up in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
"These situations are no accident," the letter adds. "They reveal a reality we all face: in French professional football, women’s teams are all too often the first to be cut when budgets are tightened. This structural vulnerability has a name: the lack of a collective agreement."
Vincent Ponsot, president of the women’s football committee at Foot Unis, told French news agency AFP that club bosses and league administrators were still thrashing out details on image rights, after cutting a deal on issues such as end-of-career severance pay and payments while players are injured.
Ponsot, who is is also managing director of Arkema Première Ligue pacesetters OL Lyonnes, added: “I’m not surprised the players are getting impatient because this situation is unacceptable."
End of season
The letter comes as the Arkema Première Ligue and Seconde Ligue culminate.
OL Lyonnes, Paris Saint-Germain, Paris FC and Nantes sit in the top four places leading to the play-offs to determine the 2026 champions.
Five teams are involved in a battle to avoid the two places leading to relegation to the Seconde Ligue, where Toulouse have claimed the title to return to the top flight for the first time in 13 years.
Paul-Hervé Douillard, director-general of the LFFP, told AFP: "I hope there's an agreement as soon as possible. It will be an important milestone for the league’s structure. I don't know when it will come but I am sure it will come to fruition."
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