Walsall Football Club has reported a 21% mean gender pay gap for ordinary pay for 2025.
The club’s median gender pay gap for ordinary pay for 2025 was zero.
Its lowest pay quartile comprises 48.4% female and 51.6% male employees, while its highest pay quartile comprises 19% female and 81% male staff.
Furthermore, the club’s mean gender bonus gap for last year was 22.1% while its median gender bonus gap stood at 22.4%. A total of 10.3% of male and 2.4% of female employees were paid a bonus in 2025.
According to the club, its mean gender pay gap for ordinary pay is so far in favour of male employees as a result of being a professional football club within the English Football League (EFL) and, therefore, paying professional football salaries to male players.
The mean gender pay gap for bonuses is in favour of male employees due to the majority of higher-value bonuses relating specifically to those paid to professional players.
A Walsall FC spokesperson said: “We are fully committed to the EFL Equality Code of Practice, although the nature of our business, as a professional football club within the EFL, inevitably results in male-dominated high-earners in the football departments, and a large gender pay gap can be expected. Due to the nature of the club’s core business, the variance in pay is likely to always continue due to the salaries paid to professional players, all of whom are male.
“The gender pay gap analysis shows the difference in the average pay between all men and women in a workforce. We will continue to develop and fully promote our equality, diversity and inclusion policies and efforts to ensure that those individuals with protected characteristics are not marginalised or treated any differently.”
