Prakash Raj

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) recently awarded full-time professional contracts to 12 women players. However, the value of the contracts has not been revealed and the 12 contracts are not enough to make up a full rugby union team, let alone a squad. These contracts are still unusual and top sportswomen continue to face more funding issues than men at the same level. Contracts offered to top women athletes are often short term, covering the weeks of a sporting competition, or part-time, and, until recently, lacking maternity leave. Women’s teams frequently face poor pitches, lower wages/prize money, and inferior conditions compared to men. Sport has been (and largely still is) governed by male, hypermasculine former athletes. One theory arguesthat these managers of sport make decisions that benefit themselves and (white, upper-class) males. As a result, women’s sport has, at many times, been misunderstood and treated poorly.