The battle for the collective agreement for elite players on the women's side has become a drawn-out story.

The agreement was already written in 2013 and has looked the same since then, even if discussions between Elite Soccer Ladies (EFD) and the Players' Association have been ongoing.

But at the beginning of the year something happened.

EFD decided to outsource the negotiation to the Employers' Alliance, which in turn announced that they are only negotiating with the Union.

Since then, the discussion has more or less stood still - and in November, EFD announced that the current agreement was being terminated. 

- We only negotiate with "real trade unions" and it is not the Players Association.

We are ready.

We can sit all Christmas if that's the case.

But we cannot negotiate with the players' association, says Maria Liljedahl, head of negotiations at the Employers' Alliance.

Liljedahl also points out that men's football has the Union as a negotiating party and that the ladies have been an exception.

Secretary General Magnus Erlingmark at the Players' Association has previously told that the members (the players) were given a proposal for an agreement that they are critical of - above all, it is about the income guarantee and the pension.

- The members have been very clear on that point.

Is it true that you were required to hand over the negotiation to the Union?

- I can't say that directly.

They have expressed that they want to negotiate with the Union, says Erlingmark.

What happens if no agreement is signed is still unclear, but a new meeting between the parties is scheduled shortly.

Hedvig Lindahl on the proposed agreement: "Worse than ten years ago":

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The players do not want to sign the new collective agreement: "Those who have it the worst are affected" Photo: BILDBYRÅN