Female soccer players in Italy allowed to turn professional

Posted April 26, 2022 7:00 am

The Associated Press

ROME (AP) - Female soccer players in Italy will finally be able to turn professional next season after years of amateur-only status that limited their salaries.

The Italian Soccer Federation's executive board approved new regulations on Tuesday that open the way for a women's professional era starting July 1 - in time for the next Serie A season.

'œToday is a big day,'ť federation president Gabriele Gravina said. 'œWe're the first federation in Italy to put this change into effect.'ť

Italian law had limited female players to amateur status, meaning that they couldn't earn more than 30,000 euros ($32,000) per year before taxes.

In the initial vote, the women's league had unexpectedly voted against the change.

'œThere was a bit of resistance from Serie A, which wanted to propose a delay but then we reached an agreement,'ť Gravina said.

Added Lazio president and federation board member Claudio Lotito: 'œThere was just a misunderstanding.'ť

Former Italy great and Azzurre coach Carolina Morace applauded the move.

'œLet's hope it's not a finish line but rather a starting off point,'ť Morace told the Lapresse news agency. 'œThere are a lot of examples in Europe and we're not the first. The 90,000 spectators at Barcelona show that there's interest in women's soccer, even in Latin countries like Spain and Italy.'ť

Italy's surprise run to the quarterfinals of the 2019 Women's World Cup also played a role in the change, Morace said.

Nearly all of the big men's clubs - Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma and Lazio - have teams that play in the growing Serie A women's league.

'œNow,'ť Morace added, 'œI hope that other federations do the same.'ť

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FILE - Italy's Valentina Giacinti, center, celebrates after scoring her side's first goal during the Women's World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Italy and China at Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier, France, on June 25, 2019. Female soccer players in Italy will finally be able to turn professional next season after years of amateur-only status that limited their salaries. The Italian Soccer Federation's executive board approved new regulations on Tuesday that open the way for a women's professional era starting July 1 - in time for the next Serie A season. (AP Photo/Claude Paris, File) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Content Providers MLS Pro Sports Soccer Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.