Have things really changed in women's football?

ON the 31st of July 2022, it finally came home. A soldout crowd of 87,192 piled into Wembley Stadium with 17.4 million more watching on the BBC to witness the Euro final, not knowing they would see a defining moment in women’s football unfold before them.

It was Manchester City’s forward Chloe Kelly that scored the winning goal in the 110th minute. Echoing Bobby Zamora, she whipped off her top to celebrate but there were still another 10 nail-biting minutes before the end of extra time. England managed to hold on until the referee blew the whistle. They had done it. The stadium erupted. England had beaten eight-time champions Germany 2-1, crowing them European Champions. As a result, Leah Williamson became the first England captain to lift a trophy at a major tournament since Bobby Moore at the 1966 World Cup.

The Lionesses Euro success was a watershed moment for women’s football. Their success caused a seismic shift in its visibility and changed the perception of women’s football indefinitely. But how much further do we need to go?

This truly pivotal moment in football was recognised by the King. The New Year Honours List 2023 awarded manager Serena Wiegman a CBE; Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze and Ellen White an MBE and captain Leah Williamson an OBE. Prior to this, at the end of 2022, Beth Mead’s individual efforts as the top goal scorer and best player of the Euro tournament were recognised as she was handed the title of BBC Sports Personality of the Year. She is the first women’s footballer to win this. However, whilst these accolades prove a change in attitudes to women’s foot- ball, they only mean so much. What the Lionesses really want to do is increase visibility, in turn increasing sponsorship, and increase accessibility to football for girls. Inspiring the younger generations will catalyse change but often girls are persuaded to play other sports. Personally, I never had the opportunity to play football at school. In fact, the team reveal in their open letter that only 63 per cent play it in PE at school.

Upon victory, the Lionesses penned an open letter to Tory candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss calling upon them to help make a difference in the landscape of women’s football across the UK. They point out how their victory is only the beginning and that there is still a long way to go in terms of women’s stakes in football. In fact, they are 50 years behind. The Football Association banned women from playing football for 50 years — the success of the Dick, Kerr Ladies FC during the First World War catalysed the 1921 ban that was only lifted in 1971. And so, the women’s game does indeed still have a lot of catching up to do, especially in terms of monetary recognition which sets professional men and women footballers worlds apart. It is said that top Lioness players earn around £200,000 a year in club football. This is crumbs in comparison to Three Lions Raheem Sterling’s salary, he is said to earn around £325,000 a week at Chelsea. As a result, many women footballers must have second jobs to supplement their income. Former Arsenal and England player Alex Scott worked in the laundry room at Arsenal. Captain Williamson herself is a part-time accountancy student. It will be a long time before there is no longer a pay gap across men's and women’s football — it is first about sustaining interest and attendance. Commercial opportunity and visibility are synonymous in football.

Things are seen to be improving, however. In fact, in 2021 the Football Association signed a multimillion-pound deal with Sky Sports and the BBC for the Women’s Super League broadcast rights. This broadcast deal demonstrates not only a growing interest in women’s football but also paves the way for more sponsorship. Confirming this, the FA director of women's professional football Kelly Simmons states: "It is a landmark moment for the women’s game and a massive breakthrough for women’s sport and women’s football". Increasing the number of televised games will allow women’s football to become more mainstream. This exposure will tell girls that pursuing professional football is possible which is what the England team are striving for. Not only this, but more televised games pave the way for more sponsorship. If logos are not going to be seen, brands will not invest in the game thus explaining why male and female professional players' salaries are worlds apart.

Recently it has been confirmed that England will fly Business class to the 2023 World Cup hosted in Australia and New Zealand. This does show growth as in 2018 they flew economy. However, the men have planes chartered for them. The differences don’t lie there. The men’s medical access is more, and their access to training grounds is prioritised over the women. So, whilst improvements can be seen, ultimately the women’s game has much further to go. An increase in the televising of games is a step in the right direction. Attendance at Women’s Super League and Championship games has risen off the back of the Lionesses' success. Recently, on the 15th of January, 46,811 tickets were sold to the Arsenal home game at the Emirates against Chelsea — the second highest in WSL history. Arsenal sold more than 47,000 for the North London Derby. Chelsea manager Emma Hayes states that ‘Arsenal have done an excellent job at packing the Emirates, they’re an inspiration for the rest of the league’. Despite this, Arsenal at their next game on the 22nd January away against Brighton play at Broadfield Stadium with a maximum capacity of just over six thousand. Therefore, it is impossible to sell the same number of tickets as the men. More tickets sold equates to further visibility and interest which leads to increased sponsorship. Until the women are consistently playing in the same stadiums as the men, the money and recognition will not compare, and it will stay a men’s game.

Usually, there is a rise of interest in the game following a major tournament — it is the sustainability of interest which is most important. The WSL runs up until the end of May with the World Cup commencing this July in Australia and New Zealand. This will keep fans excited and engaged whilst also hopefully encouraging others to take notice. In 2024 there will most likely be an England team at the Paris Olympics and then in 2025 the Euros circle back around. So, there are lots of tournaments for years to come that will not only sustain but also increase interest.

The success off the back of the Euro tournament is immense but there is still a long way to go before women and men are equal in the realm of football. The growth so far has been rapid and immense but with 50 years of catching up to do, the world must be attentive to women in football. Taking notice and getting curious about women’s football elevates their platform and sexist talk of women not being able to play or being less interesting to watch will be squashed. Hopefully, there will be a time where football doesn’t need to be distinguished by gender and it can just exist as football. For now, inspiring younger generations to play football will enact change at the roots — and the Lionesses will forever be known as the inspiration.

Qatar's FIFA World Cup in review

WHILE the FIFA fever may have come down for this year, with Argentina winning the world cup it really does feel like football may have seen everything. With the World Cup being held in Qatar this year there were a lot of concerns and questions of how well it would be executed and how restrictive the whole experience would be because of the strict laws in Qatar. It was suggested to dress modestly while in the country, not to talk to strangers, and to avoid any kind of public affection.

A lot of the experience of attending an event of such a large scope often rests on the notion of dressing up and hanging out with friends and loved ones, however this was restricted by the World Cup being in Qatar. There was a lot of speculation of whether alcohol would be allowed in the stadiums during games, alcohol was not available in the stadium to be purchased. Alcohol was however available in the World Cup hospitality area, which was right next to the stadium, the hospitality area was however only accessible to people who were guests of FIFA itself which was a very small proportion of the people attending the matches. The organisers in Qatar did make the tourist areas, transportation services and the stadiums accessible to the visitors. All public transportation was free if you had a Hayya card (Qatari Visa) which made the city more tourist friendly.

When looking at the experience of the World Cup independently from the restrictions, it was an experience of a lifetime. I watched the first semi-final which was between Argentina and Croatia and went in supporting Argentina. As Argentina won that match 3-0, and I got to watch Messi score a goal live it was a great day for me personally, the crowd was amazing with mostly Argentinian supporters the constant chanting, cheering, and the packed stadium made it an experience nobody would forget.