Women’s football leagues’ report: consolidation under way

The June 2022 Monthly Report of the CIES Football Observatory analyses the evolution in the squad make up of clubs from ten women’s leagues worldwide since 2017.

The study notably shows that the strong increase in the percentage of minutes played by expatriate footballers observed between 2017 and 2021 did not continue in the last year.

As for imported players, after four consecutive years of growth, the average age of line-ups fielded by teams did not increase during last year.

Since 2017, however, a growth was recorded in eight of the ten leagues studied, with a notable rise in the English Women’s Super League (+2.3 years of age).

By league, in 2022, the values vary between 22.1 years of age in the Netherlands and 27.1 in the United States.

The United States also stand out as the main exporting country.

With 82 footballers abroad, US citizens outrank the Swedes (46 expatriates) and the Canadians (42). Players from the United States are present in all the leagues studied, with a maximum of 22 representatives in the Swedish Damallsvenskan.

In total, 73 associations have at least one expatriate in one of the ten leagues analysed.

Go to the REPORT

About the CIES Football Observatory

The CIES Football Observatory is a research group created in 2005 within the   Swiss-based Centre International d’Étude du Sport (CIES). It specialises in the statistical analysis of football, in particular in the areas of demographics, transfer values and performance. Click here for more information.

About the CIES

The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) is an independent study centre located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. It was created in 1995 as a joint venture between the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the University of Neuchâtel, the City and State of Neuchatel.

Click here for more information.

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