Farrer & Co Women in Sport - Report - Page 10
It is true that at the top end, women’s
football is highly dependent on being
subsidised by the men’s clubs, but we
are working to ensure it has its own
clear identity.
Football: not in the
shadow of the men’s game
Our goal is to vastly increase women’s and
girls’ participation in football at all levels.
Words by Sue Campbell
Equality is important, but achieving
this aim is about much more than that.
We have a growing obesity problem,
and a growing concern for the mental
wellbeing of our young women. It is
important for young girls to see that
physical activity is fun, that it can be
enjoyable. Football can create role
models for young women; they can
see women who have a dream – an
aspiration – who work hard, stick
at something, and get there.
Whilst most boys have had the
opportunity to play football prior to
the age of eleven, it is clear that only
a very small percentage of girls had
the same opportunity, either in school
or in clubs.
The approach taken to attract girls
to the game is different. We realised
that most young girls aged between five
and ten were probably not confident
enough to go to a football session,
particularly if it was a mixed one with
boys. We must understand that what
motivates girls to become engaged and
participate can be very different to what
motivates boys, and the environment
created must be girl-friendly. This way,
they can learn to play football in a
non-competitive environment. We
have established a programme called
“Wildcats” and we now have 1,500
Wildcats centres on the ground.
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Wildcats is a girls-only environment;
it is fun, where they can be with their
friends, or come to make friends,
and it is about getting a little bit
fitter and being active.
The women’s game also has a very
different identity to the men’s game,
and this is largely because of the way
women footballers play. I was one of
31,000 fans who went to watch the first
Women’s Super League derby match
between Manchester United and
Manchester City, and it had a different
tone to it. There was no segregation
of fans, no chanting, no abrasive rude
behaviour, no shouting at referees and
no rolling on the pitch. It is the same
game, but with a different personality.
It is true that at the top end,
women’s football is highly dependent
on being subsidised by the men’s clubs,
but we are working to ensure it has its
own clear identity (football and cricket
have this as an advantage not open
to a sport like netball). We are at
the beginning when it comes to
the commercial success of women’s
football. When I arrived at The FA,
the women’s game was very much
tacked onto the men’s through joint
agreements with commercial partners.
Now we are seeing sponsors like
Barclays and Boots coming to the
table genuinely wanting to work
with the women’s game.
Women in Sport – Levelling the playing field
