If the England football team progress to the FIFA Women’s World Cup final, they’ll be our first in almost 50 years to do so.
That’s a statistic that many people are talking about today, which they might not have done so if the Lionesses had enjoyed similar success a decade ago. There certainly wasn’t a great deal of media hype about the team reaching the final of Euro 2009, even though England’s men failed to even qualify for their European Championship tournament the previous year.
But, at the very least, we are led to believe that 2015 is different. When the FA Women’s Super League kicked off it’s fifth season in March, it looked like this could finally be the year when a tangible is spotlight placed on women’s football in Britain.
This includes more television and media coverage than ever before, with BBC Sport appointing full-time reporters dedicated to women’s football for the first time. Facilities have also improved, with top clubs like Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool making use of many of the men’s, and setting a trend for smaller clubs to aspire to in the process.
The real occasion that all this momentum has been building up to is the World Cup, which kicked off in Canada last month, and has now progressed to an exciting climax. Last night, the two heavyweights of the game, USA and Germany faced each other in a pulsating semi-final.
In the end, the inaugural winners from 1991, outplayed a German side who had won four of their last five international tournaments over the past decade, beating them 2-0.
As for the England side who obtained revenge for Canada knocking Great Britain out of the Olympics in London three years ago, it may seem strange to some football fans that the ladies in white had never won a World Cup knockout game before 2015. But, this is only the seventh tournament, and the fourth that they’ve managed to qualify for. Part of the problem has been funding, and cultural issues including fewer girls aspiring to become footballers, not helped by having few role models to look up to.
But while appreciating this difficulty, you have to understand the difference between the women’s and men’s games. It is common for female footballers to have other jobs to earn a living. England left-back Claire Rafferty combines her national duties with playing for Chelsea and working as an analyst in the city.
In some sense, with difference comes opportunity, and aspiration. Rafferty’s club colleague Eniola Aluko, 28, who has worked hard to train as a lawyer away from the game, has talked in the past about using the idea of intelligence to change the image of footballers. Aside from a second language for foreign players, you have to wonder how often men’s players acquire other significant skills outside of football.
A great case study is former University of Birmingham student Izzy Christiansen’s recent transition from captain of the university’s women’s football team into a WSL regular for Manchester City Women’s Football Club.
As a student, she was able to fulfill something of a ‘normal’ teenage existence, while the dream of playing for her country – as she realised when called up to the national senior squad last year – remained firmly within reach.
That’s one of the major positives that many like Izzy have embraced. She was as humble as ever when BurnFM caught up with her at the UoB alumni Sports Day recently:
Hope you're staying up for the Women's World Cup semi-final! We caught up with @MCWFC & Ex-@UoBWomensFC @IzzyChr17: http://t.co/x8OVvJSEnY
— BurnFM Sport (@BurnFM_Sport) July 1, 2015
With the Canada v England quarter final attracting a record 60,000 crowd for any Canadian football match, things are definitely changing, and including female players in the FIFA console game is a notable step forward.
Naturally, it will take time for women’s football to establish itself, and some fans will be harder to convince than others. Yet enough is happening now to persuade many that this is the year to invest and to offer the chance to young female players.
Women’s Football is fighting to develop itself as a sport in its own right, and could well learn from some of football’s biggest mistakes in the process. For instance – the way in which the use of money has spiraled out of control – beyond all reasonable code or understanding of sound financial management. Maybe it is a good thing then, that Sepp Blatter has chosen to stay away.
Millions are expected to stay up tonight to watch England’s attempt to beat World Champions Japan, who have been underwhelming so far in this tournament. You have good reason to join them.
Main Photo: Canada Soccer via flickr
