Life after football – how the women's game has changed

The long-overdue profile that women’s football has enjoyed in the past couple of years has come a bit too late for Ella Masar.

A nomadic and dynamic striker who has won a raft of honours for 12 clubs in six countries, Ella retired this summer after helping German giants VfL Wolfsburg win the league and cup double.

As big brands start to clamour to associate themselves with women’s football, Ella is now focusing on the next chapter of her career, but she is delighted with how things have changed since her struggles as a younger player.

“When you’re young, you have to rely on yourself and make your own opportunities,” says Ella.

“As a pro athlete, you need to be stubborn, have some luck and believe in yourself.

“When the Women’s Professional Soccer league started in the United States, I was drafted ninth, which was a great place to be, but all I got when I joined the Chicago Red Stars was a hug and a scarf.”

Despite higher salaries than she had previously been used to, Ella still saw the limitations female players had imposed upon them while the men enjoyed lucrative playing and sponsorship contracts.

Her career took her to Paris St Germain, where she finally earned a good salary before the sudden death of her father took her back home and another spell with Chicago.

Having already played in Canada, Norway and Sweden, her career took her to Wolfsburg even though she was not a regular international, having won a solitary cap for the US Soccer team in 2009.

“It was unique to get a contract for a top European team without playing for the national team and it was the first time I didn’t have to worry about money.

“That gave me time to think about what I wanted to do even though if I was a male player I would never have had to work again from sponsorship income alone.”

It came as a shock to many that Ella announced her decision to retire at the end of last season but at the age of 33 and having travelled extensively, she saw more to life than football alone.

She added: “I saw a bigger picture than just football when I was travelling – you learn the culture when you travel and see the world.

“I am not young in football terms and I have never had so many contract offers to keep playing, but for all I gained, I also lost a lot by playing football.

“I want a family and kids and my maternal clock is ticking.

“I had to ask myself…I have won leagues and done everything I wanted to domestically and money is not my motivation.

“You know when you know but my heart told me it was not going on a pitch to play anymore.”

This summer saw the United States win the Women’s World Cup for the fourth time with a record 1.12 billion people watching the tournament and more than 80m watching the final against Holland.

“I captained some of those players – Allie Long was my roommate at PSG and it was great to see them win again.

“I’m honoured to have got a cap and the win this summer shows what investment and great support can achieve.

“US players already get paid more than anyone else in the world and their facilities are state-of-the-art and way ahead of everyone else.”

The women’s game is now getting the profile it has always deserved and Ella believes it goes back to the 2017 UEFA Women's European Championships which Holland hosted and eventually won.

“It’s incredible that 88% of people in Holland watched the Euro 2017 final and that was a launchpad that has seen female players become high profile now.

“The media is finally catching on to what a great thing women’s football is and the players have got so good that you can’t ignore them anymore.

“England will play in front of 90,000 when they face Germany and within the next five years I really believe that we will be where we deserve to be.”

A firm supporter of Common Goal, the charity initiative backed by Spain and Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata, Ella has also launched Doyenne Sport, a sports agency working solely with female athletes to promote their talents and source commercial and other exciting opportunities for them.

Ella explained: “Common Goal is our duty as footballers to give back. Even if we don’t get paid as much as Juan Mata, every footballer can help to change the world…and I have seen through my travels how football unites the world.

“Doyenne means I can give women athletes the opportunities that I did not have myself.

“For some girls who were pros at Sunderland or Birmingham, no one knows who you are and it goes dark when you leave the game.

“We are creating a network to help them transition to life after football and we are producing content for networks to show that these footballers are interesting and worth working with. We want women to have opportunities to show off their skills and expertise internationally and domestically.”