Maja Gothberg was three months into her pregnancy when she received the news she’d helped Lazio Women earn promotion to Italy’s top flight—29 appearances, countless kilometers covered, and a dream within reach. Then, the club walked away from a verbal contract agreement after learning she was expecting. But Gothberg, backed by FifPro and Sweden’s Spelarforeningen, fought back—and won. In a landmark ruling, Lazio must now pay compensation for unlawfully retracting the deal, affirming that pregnancy cannot be a barrier to a woman’s career in football. The case, rooted in Rome but resonating far beyond Italy, underscores a global shift in how women athletes are protected under international sports law.
This isn’t just about one player or one club. It’s about the enforceability of promises, the sanctity of medical privacy, and the real-world impact of regulations designed to protect women in sport. Under FIFA’s updated Maternity Regulations, clubs must prove that pregnancy played no role in employment decisions—shifting the burden of proof where it belongs. And when Lazio failed to do so, the consequences were clear. Alexandra Gomez Bruinewoud, legal director at FifPro, called the outcome a powerful signal: “This case shows that FIFA's Maternity Regulations are not just words on paper.”
The precedent was set before. In 2023, Iceland’s Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir won over €82,000 from Olympique Lyonnais after they withheld her salary during pregnancy—a case FIFA enforced with the threat of a transfer ban. Now, with further reforms in 2024, the framework has expanded: 14 weeks of full-pay maternity leave for both players and coaches, adoption and family leave options, and even protections for menstrual health, allowing players to miss training without penalty. Everton’s Toni Duggan became the first WSL player to receive formal maternity pay in 2022, marking a quiet but crucial milestone in English football.
Support systems are evolving too. The PFA’s new partnership with a fertility clinic offers players confidential family planning advice and financial support for treatments. Meanwhile, FifPro’s 2024 return-to-play guidelines cover nutrition, fitness, and childcare—practical tools for athletes navigating motherhood. These changes reflect a broader cultural reckoning: women in football are no longer expected to choose between career and family.
As Gothberg’s case closes, it opens a new chapter—one where fairness isn’t aspirational, but enforceable. The pitch is no longer just a place of competition, but of dignity, too.