Understanding working conditions in elite women's football: a scoping review

Despite recent growth of women's football, concerns about players' working conditions persist. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to summarise and map current evidence on working conditions in elite women's football. Seven databases were searched from 1 January 2000 to 8 May 2025). Records were included if they described working conditions (factors that can influence players' performance, health, and/or well-being) in elite women's football (participating in the highest or second highest domestic league or with a national team). Primary research articles and grey literature (e.g. theses, organisational reports, governmental reports) were eligible. An inductive content analysis was used to identify working conditions categories and count the number of records that contributed to each category. Of 10,597 potential records, 111 were included. Research articles were the most common record type (n = 78; 70%). Domestic league and national team football were described by 78 (70%) and 31 records (28%), respectively. Most records were published after 2020 (n = 78; 70%), and England was the most studied country (n = 21; 19%). Six working conditions categories were identified: finances (n = 63; 57%), performance support (n = 62; 56%), health support (n = 46; 41%), team environment (n = 35; 32%), organisational environment (n = 42; 38%), and discrimination (n = 23; 21%). The six working conditions categories identified in this review offer a preliminary framework to guide future research and inform policy development toward establishing minimum working standards in the women's game. Ensuring working conditions that promote player performance, health, and well-being is essential as women's football continues to grow.