This is "no longer acceptable": the captains of the French women's championship teams denounced Tuesday in a forum the lack of progress in the negotiations on the collective agreement for professional footballers. The unions blame each other for this failure.

Published on: 04/22/2026 - 11:05

The captains of the French women's championship teams denounced, Tuesday April 21, in a forum, the lack of progress in the negotiations on the collective agreement for professional footballers, hoped for for three seasons already.

The different parties, namely the players' union, the UNFP (National Union of Professional Footballers) and Foot Unis, which represents the clubs, blame each other for this failure, despite the creation of the Women's Professional Football League (LFFP) in July 2024.

Since this date, the status of the professional player in France has not advanced, even though the clubs had adopted an employer recommendation granting protection in matters of maternity, raising hopes of a signing shortly after.

“Efforts have been made since the creation of the LFFP, we recognize it. But the essential thing is missing: a collective agreement,” criticize the captains of the first and second divisions in this forum. "In 2026, professional players still do not have it. We practice the same sport. We train with the same demands. We face the same physical constraints and the same risks. And yet, we do not benefit from the same protections", they add, and "this discrepancy raises questions. It is no longer acceptable".

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Better treatment

Eugénie Le Sommer, member of the UNFP steering committee, emphasizes that the players “deserve better treatment with a common base of protection”. “We can no longer accept that the commitment of the players is not recognized at its true value,” said Sakina Karchaoui, captain of PSG.

For the UNFP, it has been "three years since negotiations for a collective agreement have been unsuccessful. This is no longer understandable" and "a collective agreement must be signed before the next season". But at this date, everything suggests that the implementation of such a measure for next September seems improbable.

At the beginning of April, the captain of the French team Griedge Mbock regretted this situation to AFP, knowing "that the other championships are advancing, it is handicapping for French women's football".

For many months, several blocking points have existed but only one persists today: image rights, Vincent Ponsot, president of the women's football college at Foot Unis, told AFP. On this subject, the UNFP wishes to be able to market the image of the players using the club logos, which Foot Unis refuses.

For the rest - that is to say the end-of-career allowance, the minimum hourly duration of part-time federal contracts, the maintenance of salary in the event of injury or even the management of "lofts", a practice used by clubs to get rid of undesirables - the discussions were fruitful, says Foot Unis.

“I am not surprised that the players are getting impatient because this situation is unacceptable,” Vincent Ponsot, who also manages OL Lyonnes, told AFP, believing that the UNFP is “the main responsible” for the latest sticking point. According to him, a final amended version was sent several weeks ago to the UNFP, which did not respond.

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“She will see the light of day”

Questioned by AFP, the players' union deplores this situation, stressing that three representative organizations out of four (without Foot Unis) have reached an agreement on a collective agreement for the men's Ligue 3 in a few months. “We want a mirror effect of this convention to be exerted for the players,” Fabien Safanjon, vice-president of the UNFP, told AFP.

For his part, Paul-Hervé Douillard, general director of the LFFP, hopes for a convention "as soon as possible" because it will be an "important marker for the structuring of the league", while saying he is "unable to say a date" but, it is certain, "it will see the light of day". The LFFP, which is not a decision-maker, wishes to bring together all the stakeholders again.

This forum comes in a complicated context for women's teams in France, weighed down by the economic crisis that men's clubs are going through due to the collapse of TV rights. The most emblematic example is the case of the women's section of Dijon, fifth in the Premier League, which could abandon professionalism and start at a lower level if the club does not find a buyer.

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With AFP

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