FIFA Drafts Maternity Leave Rules For Women's Footballers

Outri football league (Twitter @NWSL)

JAKARTA - FIFA on Thursday announced that it was drafting regulations related to the rights of female footballers, including maternity leave.

The draft has already been submitted by the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee (FSC) to be discussed and ratified at the FIFA board meeting next month.

Although many women's footballers in Europe are already protected by their country's labor laws, FIFA says it wants to set a new global standard for women's footballers around the world, following the emergence of a new wave of women's clubs and leagues from around the world.

Female footballers will receive maternity leave of at least 14 weeks with the right to two-thirds of their salary and guarantee that they will not suffer losses due to pregnancy.

The rules will also require clubs to make adjustments for women's footballers and provide the necessary medical and physical support.

"As an effort to promote the professionalism of women's football, as a strategic step, it is important for us to change and adapt the framework of this sport at the same time. This is a good example," said Head of the FIFA Women's Football Department, Sarai Bareman.

"We want women to support themselves as footballers while ensuring their right to have families and become mothers. That is why it is important to have a regulatory framework to protect female footballers," he added.