Underpaid, under-protected: Australian football's women players deserve better

Australian Rules football is part of Australia's national psyche, but I have to confess I didn't like it at first.

That didn't stop me from going to my first game a few years ago. It was Sydney University and the Balmain Dockers in the grand final of the Sydney women's competition. It was grassroots, it was raw and a hell of a lot of fun.

Fast forward and the Australian Football League (AFL) is launching its first-ever national women's competition. Women across eight teams will now have the opportunity to play in those hallowed stadiums from which they've been shut out for so long.

Unfortunately, there's a lot not to like. The women are being paid peanuts. This is hardly new in women's sports, but in this case, it's particularly disappointing.

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Let's simply compare the numbers, which have been helpfully laid out by sports journalist Erin Riley. The average male AFL player gets A$302,104 for a 22-week season. That's A$13,732 a week. That's a lot of peanuts. Even a rookie who gets no game time at all will bring home A$2,595 a week.

The majority of women's players will take home a minimum of A$5,000 for the eight week tournament. That's A$625 per week. Australia's minimum wage is A$672.70 for a 38 hour week.

To add insult to injury, this wage doesn't include pre-season training, which the players have to commit to for no pay. In order to make rent and you know, live, they'll presumably need to hold down second jobs. If they can convince their employers for some time off, of course.

And what if a player gets injured?

I could almost forgive the low wages if the AFL covered the players' insurance. But no, they have to pay for that out of their own pocket -- something that could amount to half their playing wage.

Consider that if an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is ruptured, the standard time out of commission for a female athlete is 12 months. Of course, players can come back sooner, but only if they have full club support and access to facilities and wage protection insurance to see them through. Who is looking after these players when they have to stop playing to recover?

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The AFL's pay issue hasn't yet reached the scale of the U.S. women's soccer team dispute. In that case, an established team is already bringing in millions for their federation and yet is still losing the wage fight.

And who knows how big the AFL could get? AFL spokesperson Patrick Keane tweeted Saturday that the showcase women's match-up between the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne saw an average of 387,000 viewers in Melbourne -- that's the highest average of the season, including the men's games.

Yes, the AFL women's league is new, but it could be huge. Underpayment is not the way to build a successful game.

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Consider this: The AFL invested over A$100 million on developing the men's game between 2007 and 2014 with A$70 million for the setup of two new clubs, the GWS Giants and Gold Coast Suns. Players were paid in the vicinity of the figures cited above for three whole years before the team even played one game in the national competition.

That's one mighty investment, and one the AFL felt it needed to make to ensure the new clubs were competitive. Without solid investment, you're unlikely to reap solid rewards.

The quality of the women's game will no doubt be good, but imagine how much better it would be with full support for the league's real stars: The athletes. As it is, no pre-season pay, part-time training and pocket change does women's AFL a severe disservice.

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It must be mentioned that the AFL is getting a lot out of this new league. Like many other football codes, the AFL also has a "gender problem" and this is giving it some much needed positive press. Not to mention, taking the game to a new level and capturing new audiences.

Make no mistake, this is a game changer and not just in sport. "It's another opportunity for the AFL to drive social change through gender equality," commented Lauren Arnell, one of Carlton Football Club's marquee signings.

We need to give this league the best chance of success possible, and that means proper compensation. Surely the return on investment alone is worth fair pay and insurance for the AFL's newest ambassadors?

Danielle Warby is the former managing editor of SBS's women's sports site, Zela.