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Former international stars Katie Chapman and Camille Abily expressed their support after the FIFA Council passed landmark reforms to better protect female players and football coaches.

The announcement on Friday 4 December stipulates that players will now be given 14 weeks of paid (at least two-thirds of contracted salary) maternity leave. 

Chelsea FC Women’s Ambassador and former England Lioness Katie, a proud mum of three boys, took to social media to say: "It’s nice that women’s football is now seen as a job and as a profession. It doesn’t have to be the end of your career when you become a mum. Being a parent during my career made me better. There are many benefits. I’m grateful to FIFA for putting this in place.”

Camille, capped 183 times by France, added: "This reform about maternity is a great first step. It will allow all female players to be mums, without an afterthought. Top female players can think about having a family, so this reform will allow them to be more liberated.”"

FIFA President Gianni Infantino acknowledged that the move is long overdue, said:“It is maybe surprising that these reforms are only coming now, but now they are coming.

“It’s important to remember the players are the protagonists of the game, they are the most important part of the game. We have to make sure that we set the stage for them to shine. And we want them of course to be healthy, to be safe and to be happy.

"When it comes to female players, this means that we should bring also more stability to their careers, so that for example if they need to take maternity leave, then they do not have to worry about their careers when they are ready to play again.”

On top of being given 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, clubs will be obligated to reintegrate these players into the club upon their return while also providing adequate medical support.

Additionally, clubs will be able to sign players outside of regular transfer periods to replace a player who takes maternity leave. Any club that terminates the contract of a player for becoming pregnant will be punished both with fines and sporting sanctions. 

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