Women’s Football — Road to the top flight

It’s great to see the broad coverage that women’s football in England is receiving in the last few years; a sport where coverage has always been dominated by men’s football. The 2019 Women’s World Cup kicked off in France, where current holders, USA, are firm favourites to retain the trophy. Excitement is high and the event is attracting a lot of attention.

Women’s football seems very popular now, but it actually has a longer history than most people expect and goes back to the 1890’s. In 1921 the FA actually banned women from playing on football league grounds; however, in 1969 the Women’s FA (WFA) was formed and has since continued to develop.

During this time, men’s football has taken the headlines; whether it was Neymar’s €200m+ transfer to PSG, Rooney’s 53 England goals or Pogba’s good/bad weekly performances at Manchester United. But there have been some incredible achievements in women’s football which are sadly unrecognised.

In men’s football this year, Manchester City won the domestic treble by winning the Premier league, League Cup and FA Cup. During an interview, the City manager was asked how it felt to be the first team to achieve the domestic treble; however the manager correctly pointed out that they are the first men’s team to do so. In fact it was the Arsenal Ladies who won the first domestic treble in 2006–07.

Another achievement that is little spoken of is that of Abby Wambach (USA), who holds the current all-time goal scoring record in men’s and women’s international football with 184 goals (in 256 matches)! That makes Rooney’s 53 England goals look rather low by comparison…

One of the global icons of Women’s football is Alex Morgan (USA), who is not only a superstar on the pitch but is also at the forefront for gender equality. She is a role model for the masses and has helped to draw more attention on an international level through her campaigns, charities and influence.

Unfortunately, there is still an imbalance between men’s and women’s football, demonstrated, for example, by the fact that the prize money for the 2019 Women’s World Cup is $4m (double that of the 2015 World Cup), but the winners of the men’s tournament in the 2018 received a prize of $38m.

Despite grievances about unequal treatment, participation in Women’s football is on the rise. Each year, more participants are registered with the FA at all levels including; Youth, Semi-Professional/Professional, Coaches and Match Officials. Global TV audiences are growing, as are the number of spectators — a 29% rise in attendance since the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada, for example. Results, highlights and updates popping up all over the news and social media. The campaign for equality in this sense has taken a hugely positive leap.

The USA are the favourites to win this World Cup, but I’ll be backing the Lionesses to bring it home!