2023-10-22 07:00:50
What should a club do? when one of his soccer players gets pregnant? Can they follow any protocol or guide in decision making? So far, only two LigaF footballers have been pregnant mothers and, through their cases, we can see how the management of pregnancy by entities is not specifically regulated.
The collective agreement (which dates back to 2019 and has been renegotiated for more than a year) only specifies that the clubs must sign the extension of the athlete’s contract for another year, to guarantee her job stability. Otherwise, nothing. Neither measures nor resources. “There is no regulation that says: if a player becomes pregnant, the club can do this or that. Or a postpartum plan, that’s not there. There is no general plan, it is left very much at the expense of the clubs“, reports Reyes Bellversports law lawyer and CAS arbitrator.
Shortcomings in the collective agreement
At the national level, female soccer players are covered by Spanish legislation that details universal birth benefits. However, these common labor standardsfall short considering the specificity of the job of a soccer player.
“We have a Workers’ Statute that provides for a series of protections for working women: birth leave, protection against possible dismissal, collecting 100% of the regulatory base during birth leave… However, Football is a different job, which involves a series of situations that are not contemplatedso it is at the expense of regulating it in the collective agreement,” says Amanda Gutierrezpresident of FUTPRO, the majority union of female soccer players.
“The problem is that you have some minimal issues, but then the day-to-day development is very much at the will of the clubs”
Sports law lawyer and CAS arbitrator
To put on the table the (imperative) needs regarding motherhood that soccer players need to include in the agreement, FUTPRO carried out a study that provides worrying data. And 46% of female soccer players are afraid of suffering retaliation for getting pregnant, 40% think they will be discriminated against when playing and 100% demand improvements in the clubs to be able to face motherhood. “The conclusion is that there is a lack of information so that they can decide freely,” concludes Gutiérrez, who is leading the negotiation of the new legal framework for women’s football.
Demands and needs
“I think that today Any footballer who decides to be a mother has the protection to do so“, defends Beatriz Alvarez, president of League F. A statement with which players and unions do not agree. “There are cases like that of Alharilla in the Levantin which the club wanted to be in the player’s place at all times, but we must be realistic: that It won’t happen in all clubs“, refutes Amanda Gutiérrez.
The need for a training specific during pregnancy, specialist doctors in women and motherhood throughout the process, conciliationof Back to work or adaptation of facilities for the lactation, are some of the fields that remain to be covered. While all these matters are much more advanced in the Federations and teams (they depend directly on FIFA, which has developed much more exhaustive regulations) the clubs have been left behind. “In The national teams are where there is more protection, more control and they are more advanced than the clubs, which is where there is still a lot to do.“adds Bellver.
Breastfeeding rooms, first obstacle
Related news
One of the clear examples of how difficult it is to implement measures is in the provision of lactation rooms. While the LigaF defends that since there is no collective agreement yet signed that contemplates this type of resources for mother soccer players and, therefore, it is not enforceable from the clubs, the unions and jurists emphasize that FIFA regulations already require all entities (Federations and clubs) to have these types of facilities for athletes. “We have a FIFA rule that applies to all countries and their Federations, of which the clubs are part. The regulations say that there must be a space for breastfeeding, and that also includes clubs. The League should be alert to inform its clubs so that they are up to date,” says the CAS referee.
Nowadays, “you have to be lucky.” Each club decides what measures it adopts to protect (or not) its players in the event of pregnancy and what resources it provides them with. The collective agreement (which has already reached an economic agreement and must focus on the social field, such as maternity) plans to mark a clear roadmap and mandatory for the clubs to not leave anything “to chance.”
#regulation #left #expense #clubs