China's ace striker Ma Xiaoxu
and her fellow national team-mates have been the shining lights of international
women's football this year. However, off the field, they continue to battle a
gloomy life of poverty overshadowed by their wealthy male counterparts.
Ma Xiaoxu is rising to become China's
next superstar following the footsteps of Sun Wen , the FIFA Women's
Player of the 20th Century. Ma and her collegues are struggling
finanically. Ma earns less than US$200 per month although the team is the
reigning Asian champion and former Olympics and world runner-up.[File
Photo]
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Ma claimed the two most prestigious
individual honours at the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Championship in Russia
last month including the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe. The 18-year-old
inspired China to win an unexpected silver medal with five goals and two
assists. Ma and team-mate Han Duan, have both been nominated for this year's
FIFA Women Player of the Year award.
Last week, the Asian Football Confederation also nominated Ma for the
region's Women Player of the Year, as well as the candidate for best Youth
Player. This is an award usually bestowed upon male players.
Unfortunately, the impressive personal performances and team achievements are
not enough to financially reward the women stars.
Ma made headlines this month after she refused to accept a
1,500-yuan-per-month (US$187) offer from her club Dalian Shide. She reportedly
wanted at least 3,000 yuan (US$375) a month.
The top US national women team's players are paid US$5,800 a month plus
bonuses if they win tournaments.
Ma's payment row highlighted the low living conditions of China's top female
footballers, who are hoping to win nation's first eve Women's World Cup next
year on home soil.
Ma became one of the world's biggest stars after Sun Wen's retirement, and
spearheaded China's U-17 team into the 2004 World Championship final. The
striker also played a core role in China's two top podium finishes at the Asian
Youth Championships and Asian Cup.
But despite the international glory, club payments are only a fraction of the
male salaries.
The average male club player makes hundreds of thousands of yuan annually,
even though the men have been under constant criticism for their lacklustre
international performances, match-fixing and gambling since going professional
12 years ago
"Actually, Ma's income is more than many other women's players. Last year, it
was 500 yuan. 1,500 is the top income at her age in China," Zhang Jianqiang,
director of women's football department of China Football Association told
reporter from Southern Weekly.
Yue Min, another key player in Russia's tournament, is a member of a club in
China's second division league and her monthly income is 200 yuan (US$25), also
the most in the club. "Coach gave me some money to buy some sunscreen to protect
my skin. Other teammates only get 100 yuan (US$12.5)," Yue said.
No marketing, no money
China's women's football reached its peak in 1999 when the national team won
world titles, and players, such as Sun and Gao Hong gained international fame
with their sophisticated techniques and professionalism.
They took home the silver medal in the 1996 Olympics and scored second place
in the 1999 World Cup. Sun was crowned FIFA Women's Player of the 20th Century
in 2000. The player was paid about 1,000 yuan (US$125) monthly on the Chinese
national team before joining the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) in the
US.
Sun's and Gao's achievements injected life and money into the women's market
and the budding women's league drew increasing attention from fans and sponsors.
But things have changed since the retirement of this golden generation.
The stadium was almost empty at last month's National Women's Football
Championships and most spectators were players and coaches on the bench.
"The organizers did not think about the ticket sales. There are rarely people
coming to watch the competition even if we offer free tickets," an official from
the hosting stadium was quoted as saying.
Even the international matches failed to arouse any interests of fans.
According to Tianjin Jin Wan Bao newspaper, the May's friendly between China and
DPRK in Tianjin sold less than 100 tickets, producing an embarrassing income of
300 yuan (US$37).
At the end of September, Tianjin hosted the South-North Star Challenge and
chose to deliver ticket free of charge, only to see less than 1,000 people come
to the stadium.
"If a company wants to sponsor a women's team, it will choose an agency to
have a marketing investigation," Zhang said.
"The feedback is zero and there will be no return after investing money on
women's football. That is the truth.
"As an industry, the further development is from three segments - player
transfers, broadcasting and tickets. But women's football has none of the three
factors. So it is difficult to manage a club," said Cai Wei, manager of Jiangsu
club.
