The income of women's football players has always been the focus of public attention, especially compared with men's football players, the gap between the two is very obvious and embarrassing. According to 2024 statistics, women's football players earn only a tiny fraction of the income of men's players. Especially at international level, the men's World Cup winner receives a huge prize of $40 million, while the women's World Cup winner only receives a whopping $2.5 million, which is a staggering difference. As a result, female soccer players often face financial difficulties and struggle to secure the resources they need to train and compete intensively.
In addition to the economic challenges, there is also a social responsibility for female footballers. Taking Zhao Lina as an example, after she left the field, although she accepted brand endorsements and participated in live broadcast interactions, this behavior caused the public to question whether she deviated from the original intention of football public welfare. Therefore, as public figures, female football players should pay more attention to their social responsibilities when choosing endorsements or live broadcast activities, actively participate in football public welfare actions, and make greater contributions to society.
Zhao Lina's emotional outburst during the live broadcast once again reflects the enormous pressure that online violence has brought to public figures, especially the harm to female football players. She said that although she has never abused anyone in the live broadcast room, she is often maliciously attacked by online barrages. Therefore, as the focus of the public eye, female football players need to learn how to deal with online violence and maintain a good psychological state.
The income and social responsibility of female footballers are undeniable, and there is a significant inequality in the current salary situation of female footballers. According to the FIFA report, none of the top 10 highest-paid players in 2019 were female footballers. Despite the fact that female footballers have shown great strength in international competitions, their salaries are far lower than those of male footballers. For example, the average annual salary of the 2019 Women's World Cup-winning U.S. women's soccer team is just $38,000, while the men's World Cup winners France in the same year earn an average of $1,700,000 a year. This pay gap is undoubtedly unfair to the individual value of female footballers and to the whole sport of women's football.
The relative lack of salaries for female footballers has had an impact on the further development and popularity of women's football. Lacking adequate financial support, female footballers are distracted by finding other income** to support themselves, making it difficult for them to devote themselves to training and competitions. This will undoubtedly weaken the level of competition in women's football, and will also affect its overall popularity and influence. If women's soccer players are treated on par with men's soccer players, they will have more energy and time to improve their skills and play a greater role in promoting women's football.
As a public figure, Zhao Lina needs to assume greater social responsibility during the live broadcast, and her behavior and remarks will be widely noticed and imitated. The collapse of Zhao Lina in the live broadcast is not only an unexpected incident, but also triggers us to think deeply about the development of women's football and the problems related to social cognition. She choked up and mentioned that as women's football players, they put their bodies and minds into the national competition, put in hard work, but got a meager income, and faced financial difficulties after retiring. This makes us have to reflect: as a member of society, have we fulfilled our responsibility and obligation to support the development of women's football?
On the other hand, Zhao Lina's appeal is also a reminder to pay attention to and support female football players at all times. She hopes that the society can give more care and assistance, so that more little girls dare to choose to become football players and contribute to the Chinese women's football movement. At the same time, we need to think about how to promote and help the development of women's football, so that it can shine more brightly.
Zhao Lina's emotional outburst during the live broadcast undoubtedly triggered us to think deeply about the income and social responsibility of female football players, online violence and the pressure on public figures, the development of women's football and social cognition. These issues are not just issues for women's football per se, but are intertwined with multiple aspects such as social equity, social responsibility and gender equality. It is necessary for us to pay attention to these issues, go deeper, and find ways and means to solve them, so as to create a more just, equitable and friendly social environment for female football players and other public figures.