Players’ union launches pregnancy, return-to-play guide

MANCHESTER: Global soccer players’ union FIFPRO has launched a 48-page guide to help women, as well as their families and team staff, better understand and manage pregnancy and post-childbirth playing careers.The Postpartum Return to Play Guide comes amid what FIFPRO discovered was a lack of knowledge within professional soccer, despite the fact a woman’s peak fertility often significantly overlaps with her prime athletic performance years.

“There is this perceived incompatibility, not just in football but in sport generally, that you can’t have a child and be an athlete,” Alex Culvin, FIFPRO’s director of policy and strategic relations for women’s football, said in a video call on Monday.

“There’s players out there who have disproven this on a daily basis. So we wanted to bring all of this together and elevate, listen to the player voice, centralise their experiences alongside experts and the scientific literature and create something that hadn’t been produced before, with the FIFRO stamp on it.

“(It) will be actually a game-changer for the landscape of professional women’s football.”

The guide was written by a task force of professional players with children including former Jamaica forward Cheyna Matthews, Germany goalkeeper Almuth Schult, American Crystal Dunn and Iceland’s Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir, plus a group of medical experts.

It covers everything from players’ rights, to advice for conversations with clubs, to immediate physical concerns around sleep, nutrition and training during pregnancy to longer-term concerns such as breastfeeding and a return to high-performance training and playing.

“It’s an initiative I didn’t have in my first pregnancy. I remember being so scared and nervous, and having no direction on what would be provided for me as a mom,” said Matthews, a mother of three boys.

“To have this specifically for women returning to play after birth is so important.”

FIFA released its Maternity Regulations in 2021 to protect the rights of players who become pregnant during their careers, but FIFPRO found that guidance from teams still varies widely.

AC Milan recently became the first European club to guarantee contract renewals for players who become pregnant in the final year of their deals. Players will also receive help with childcare.

The Italian club’s initiative comes after FIFA announced new pay regulations in May to support female players and coaches through pregnancy, adoption and maternity leave.

Dunn, who helped the U.S. to gold at the recent Paris Olympics, had son Marcel in the prime of her career in 2022.

“To raise a baby, it takes a village,” said Dunn, who plays for the NWSL’s Gotham FC. “The most important thing is having that plan in place so that a female athlete just comes back and all they have to do is follow step by step and feel safe and protected.”