Filipino American footballer Alyssa Thompson signs with Chelsea for a club-record deal
In a sports world that’s still dealing with the massive gap between men and women athletes—as well as the rise of AAPI talent—here’s a nice piece of news that likely went under your radar: Female Filipino American football player Alyssa Thompson landed a huge five-year deal with Chelsea FC Women, which is reportedly worth nearly £1 million (P77,677,780).
That means she’ll be making around P19.4 million a year with the club, and the history books are already calling it one of the most expensive transfers in the sport. Thompson makes the move from the Los Angeles-based Angel City FC, which plays in the US’ National Women’s Soccer League.
A big step forward for women athletes
Thompson is a fast-rising star of the sport, whose biggest stint to date includes clinching a spot in the US national team in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. More than someone we in the Philippines could be proud of, CBS soccer reporter Sandra Herrera notes that the whopping price paid for Thompson’s services is a sign of the “growing financial power” of top NWSL and European clubs. And it’s about time, too. That really means that clubs are finally starting to pony up the cash needed for their players to continue playing for them at a top level.
As we’re already familiar with, women’s sports face a frustrating gap in pay compared to the men, almost regardless of the sport. This was most egregious particularly in US soccer, where the women’s national team does a lot better and is better known than the men’s team, thanks to stars like Megan Rapinoe. But they didn’t address the issue of the gender pay gap until years after the women’s team established their dominance.
We’re still dealing with this, and as recently as earlier this year, FIFA put out a report pointing out the glaring disparity. Thompson’s £1 million deal is a major step forward here, especially for talent that’s truly transcendental, but for everyone else, it’s still a tough sell. The same FIFA report found that the average gross salary for a female soccer player around the world was around $10,900 (P622,704) per year.
In the Philippine context, that would be around P51,850 gross per month. A livable wage here, but for talented athletes that form the essential product that’s being consumed, and for elsewhere abroad, definitely not enough. In the context of the US and Europe, the top teams make enough to bump up the payslip for their athletes.
Thankfully, it seems the world’s top clubs are starting to catch up. Thompson’s move to Chelsea follows American defender Naomi Girma’s transfer to the same team, and her $1.1 million (£808,891) deal made her the first million-dollar female soccer player—that is, until Thompson came around. It’s clear then that the money and the eyes are present in the women’s game, and this should force other teams and clubs to start paying more.
Just keep playing
Zooming back into the Philippines: it’s still a long, tough game to get top money for anything outside professional men’s basketball. Women’s volleyball is definitely starting to come into its own, but for everyone else, there are still scenes to be grown. This is, of course, on top of the multitudes of pressing issues that plague our country.
But if the West can finally start getting to grips with the rise of women’s sports, then we here who are invested in many of their moves and trends could definitely see women’s athletes succeed one day. Breakthroughs like Thompson’s and Girma’s—as well as those of athletes in other sports, including Alex Eala, Hidilyn Diaz, and many others rising now—prove that while the road is long, it’s never a lost cause.
Everyone just needs to keep playing the game.
