| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player 19:13 - Aug 2 with 6256 views | Kesgrave_Exile |
BBC News - Women's football: 'I'm a pro footballer but I have a second job'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-62386612
There was much made about town having full time players but this seems like smoke and mirrors. You can understand why the club has failed to attract any players in the summer. What's the point being a pro but still having to work full time it's counter productive.
I think the club needs to invest more in players contracts which when compared to the men's team would be a modest sum.
[Post edited 2 Aug 2022 19:14]
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 20:32 - Aug 2 with 1541 views | Keno |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 20:31 - Aug 2 by Swansea_Blue |
Gate receipts wouldn’t touch the sides of the men’s team either. Evans also subsidised the club to the tune of about £90m during his time, so there’s certainly a precedent for that. TV revenue is presumably an issue for the girls- hopefully that will change now, but suspect we’re not in a big enough league to benefit. |
you could actually argue that Womens football is more financially viable than the mans game |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 20:41 - Aug 2 with 1516 views | Bobsthename |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 20:30 - Aug 2 by Steve_M |
Not as deluded as anyone who thinks that Sunday’s football will be quickly forgotten. |
I’ll remember our game Saturday a lot longer than the womens game Sunday that’s for sure. | | | |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 20:47 - Aug 2 with 1511 views | Illinoisblue |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 19:28 - Aug 2 by BlueBadger |
We can afford both and should do both. |
Not really. We lose millions each year. And given there’s no return - or potential of one - from the women’s team it’s hard to make a case for it financially. |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 21:15 - Aug 2 with 1471 views | Swansea_Blue |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 20:16 - Aug 2 by Bobsthename |
Nope i don’t want to watch woman’s football i would rather watch a decent youth game which nine times out of ten would be by far better entertainment i think this time next month hardly anyone will care about them winning that euro cup i’ve almost forgot it.
if you think the ladies team could pay back the millions the owners have invested in ITFC you are truely deluded. |
You’ve missed a treat then because some of the football in the Euros was excellent. |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 21:17 - Aug 2 with 1473 views | Freddies_Ears |
We never said we have ft pro female players. We have several players on pt pro contracts. Many have full time jobs and train evenings, then using time off for weekend games, especially when they travel Saturday for a Sunday game. | | | |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 21:22 - Aug 2 with 1460 views | JammyDodgerrr |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 19:46 - Aug 2 by Marshalls_Mullet |
£47k per year is the average in the WSL, not the top earner. |
Quite. Leah Williamson is the highest earner, on 200k a year. Same as Harry Kane earns in a week. Crazy difference. |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 21:26 - Aug 2 with 1463 views | EastTownBlue |
The Town players will be earning more from the game than players from other teams in the third tier of the women's game. Does this make them any different from non league players who earn money in football and also require a full time job ?
How much should they all be paid to ensure that they don't require a job outside the game ? Pus there is careers after they have retired to consider. | | | |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 21:39 - Aug 2 with 1444 views | Hipsterectomy |
This isnt really the thread for it, but does anyone know why women's footbal transfers have to be undisclosed? You'd think BBC, Sky would be buzzing at the first £500,000/£1mill/£2mill transfer. |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 21:42 - Aug 2 with 1440 views | Hipsterectomy |
I'd also imagine (hope) the club will pay her and her team mates a decent insurance package. If NT got a bad injury it would surely impact her personal trainer role | |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 21:51 - Aug 2 with 1440 views | Dubtractor |
This isn't necessarily aimed at the OP, but I'm getting pretty fed up with pointless comparisons between the men and women's game in the last few days/weeks.
Whether that is smart arses saying that the womens game is rubbish, too slow, not physical enough blah blah blah, or whether its complaining that the women should earn as much as men, it is all utter nonsense.
The women's game has come on leaps and bounds in the last decade, some of the football in the Euros was excellent, and it is a great sport in it's own right - but comparisons to the men's game are just not helpful. The women's game is at a completely different stage in it's development, but I'd guess that pay has grown enormously in recent years, especially at the top level. That's great, and hopefully it will continue to grow and the game continue to get ever greater media coverage/sponsorship etc.
Re the OP, I'm not sure it is reasonable to expect too many, or even any, players to be paid a full time professional wage given the level our women's team are at, and the support and income available. Someone else made a great point about the very limited promotion and relegation opportunities from our level - that needs to be sorted as it makes it almost a closed shop in the top 2 divisions. |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 21:59 - Aug 2 with 1417 views | xrayspecs |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 21:51 - Aug 2 by Dubtractor |
This isn't necessarily aimed at the OP, but I'm getting pretty fed up with pointless comparisons between the men and women's game in the last few days/weeks.
Whether that is smart arses saying that the womens game is rubbish, too slow, not physical enough blah blah blah, or whether its complaining that the women should earn as much as men, it is all utter nonsense.
The women's game has come on leaps and bounds in the last decade, some of the football in the Euros was excellent, and it is a great sport in it's own right - but comparisons to the men's game are just not helpful. The women's game is at a completely different stage in it's development, but I'd guess that pay has grown enormously in recent years, especially at the top level. That's great, and hopefully it will continue to grow and the game continue to get ever greater media coverage/sponsorship etc.
Re the OP, I'm not sure it is reasonable to expect too many, or even any, players to be paid a full time professional wage given the level our women's team are at, and the support and income available. Someone else made a great point about the very limited promotion and relegation opportunities from our level - that needs to be sorted as it makes it almost a closed shop in the top 2 divisions. |
I agree.
Town women are currently at a similar level to men's non-league step three/four teams, with attendances around 350. These players are semi-professional and earning between £50 and a few hundred £ per week.
With bigger attendances, commercial support etc. then salaries will grow.
The average salary in the WSL is less than £50k pa. Leah Williamson, England captain is reputedly on £200k per annum, half what Ronaldo earns in week. Or Kane earns in seven days.
The women's leagues need to exploit the Euro win to drive attendances and commercial support. If they do this well, then the benefits will flow down their players. | | | |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 22:02 - Aug 2 with 1401 views | BigCommon |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 19:28 - Aug 2 by Kesgrave_Exile |
What and the women's team can't repay that? Obviously you have been living under a rock for the last month, there is going to be so much more focus on women's football going forward and if Ipswich women's team want to progress we need to give the players the best opportunity to do so by paying them a wage that then stops the need for them to supplement it. |
No, there won't be loads of focus on the women's game.. Premier league kicks off on Saturday. And all the media outlets are all over that now. Then there's the World Cup in December. Which the media will be all over from November onwards..
The BBC will still do it's bit for the Women's game. As will some clubs
PS,
Don't shoot the messenger. |  | | |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 22:28 - Aug 2 with 1365 views | Deano69 |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 19:46 - Aug 2 by Marshalls_Mullet |
£47k per year is the average in the WSL, not the top earner. |
The highest paid female footballer about 3 years ago was £3k a week. For that, they also had to coach kids teams. Things may have changed since.
I had heard there’s a potential for the women players to be ITFC employees, so potentially working within the club as part of their salary (stat analysis that sort of thing) but allowing as much training time as possible.
No idea what money coaches/managers are likely to be on. |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 22:53 - Aug 2 with 1349 views | azuremerlangus |
Probably lots of sports which don’t have parity of pay between both sexes.
Men’s Netball is no doubt one, as is Women’s Basketball? |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 07:22 - Aug 3 with 1251 views | Ely_Blue |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 19:47 - Aug 2 by textbackup |
Fck it ill be honest, if we spent £500k on the ladies team, and missed out on buying a player to help the mens team I’d have the right arsehole.
And I say this as a dad of two girls that love to play and watch football too.
But my team is the Ipswich mens team, and I only care how they progress. Good luck to the ladies team, but not my worry [Post edited 2 Aug 2022 20:11]
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Does that mean you don’t care about the academy teams either?
The 60s called and said can you come back please to your sexist pre womens football age! |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 10:34 - Aug 3 with 1163 views | tractorshark |
Ticket prices in the WSL are normally under a tenner for adults. In fact many are around a fiver.
You won't recoup your money on gate receipts alone.
Yes there will be a massive surge of interest following the Euros and that's great for the women's game and richly deserved.
But whether they can sustain that, I'm not so sure. One-off games have always proved popular in women's football but often tickets are given away to schools etc so the crowds are not really a true reflection of sustained interest.
And the competitiveness and standard of football still has a long way to go to lure someone who is used to paying to see their men's team.
The hope has to be they can tap in to the different kind of family audience that watched the Euros. But families want value for money, so that means you can't rip them off with high ticket prices, extortionate food outlets etc on a regular basis.
Then there is the question of stadiums. Do you play in the Etihad or City's Academy Stadium? Which one are you more likely to fill?
Likewise Portman Road or Felixstowe?
I will be as polite as I can here but the Ipswich women's team is light years away from the WSL and that was shown by the fact they barely laid a glove on Man City and West Ham.
And to put that into perspective, Chelsea barely laid a glove on Barcelona in their women's Champions League final.
Ipswich Women are still in their infancy but hopefully the progression will continue.
However, if I was the club's owners, I would be very reluctant to throw money at them with very little guarantee of a return.
I would add though I do hope this is the catalyst for the women's game to ignite in this country. I don't like the comparisons between the men's and women's game, I don't think it does either any favours even if the sport is the same.
The women's game is its own entity, it needs the clubs for their branding and stature but I think it can do perfectly well without the crazy ticket prices and ludicrous and offensive wages of the men's game. | | | |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 10:44 - Aug 3 with 1158 views | ElephantintheRoom |
They play in Felixstowe in front of crowds of 350 don’t they? | |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 12:01 - Aug 3 with 1122 views | ronnyd |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 20:30 - Aug 2 by Steve_M |
Not as deluded as anyone who thinks that Sunday’s football will be quickly forgotten. |
Sorry, but there is a world of difference between what you saw on Sunday and ITFC ladies. Which is what the OP is alluding to. Even the top WSL teams play on smaller grounds or in smaller facilities with in the club complex, ie, Man C. | | | |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 12:05 - Aug 3 with 1121 views | Kieran_Knows |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 20:15 - Aug 2 by textbackup |
Where do you suggest they’ll all get changed and showered? |
I think the plans are eventually to put in a state of the art training facility over the other side of the road to where the main building is now. |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:33 - Aug 3 with 1062 views | braveblue |
With crowds of 350 how can you support a full professional squad with salaries that mean it’s your only job. Just doesn’t make sense. | | | |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:39 - Aug 3 with 1046 views | itfcjoe |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:33 - Aug 3 by braveblue |
With crowds of 350 how can you support a full professional squad with salaries that mean it’s your only job. Just doesn’t make sense. |
Teams in National league averaging 1000 are full time pros |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:44 - Aug 3 with 1038 views | Wallingford_Boy |
She plays in the 3rd Div of the womens game, HUGE way off the Prem in terms of ability.
Can't compare with mens game. |  |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:52 - Aug 3 with 1024 views | Vaughan8 |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:39 - Aug 3 by itfcjoe |
Teams in National league averaging 1000 are full time pros |
I'm guessing a big difference on ticket prices too. I'm sure Borehamwood a few years ago when i went was £20+ for an adult.
I'm guessing the ladies is £10?
That would be £16,500 difference per game.
Also think 1000 average attendance is probably a bit low too | | | |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:52 - Aug 3 with 1024 views | Ely_Blue |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:44 - Aug 3 by Wallingford_Boy |
She plays in the 3rd Div of the womens game, HUGE way off the Prem in terms of ability.
Can't compare with mens game. |
Take a look at the disparity in another way then!
The highest paid WSL player who has just captained her country to the European Championship victory in front of 87k at Wembley earns less per year than most of our squad! Just take that in for a moment, based on last season we were the 55th best mens team in the country.
Now fair enough the woman’s game isn’t at the level that the mens game is just yet but there isn’t 52 times the difference between our mens and womens national captains! | |
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| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:56 - Aug 3 with 1006 views | Vaughan8 |
| ITFC Natasha Thomas on having to work full time even though she is pro player on 13:52 - Aug 3 by Ely_Blue |
Take a look at the disparity in another way then!
The highest paid WSL player who has just captained her country to the European Championship victory in front of 87k at Wembley earns less per year than most of our squad! Just take that in for a moment, based on last season we were the 55th best mens team in the country.
Now fair enough the woman’s game isn’t at the level that the mens game is just yet but there isn’t 52 times the difference between our mens and womens national captains! |
Aren't you taking one games attendance though? What is the attendance on a regular basis at the clubs. They aren't paid (much) by England.
Ipswich get 20,000+ each game at £25 a ticket.
The women's games probably get 5,000 at lower prices?
Unfortunately money talks at there is loads more money in men's football currently. | | | |
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