Blog by Rachel Williams, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Women in Sport
When was the last time an emoji made you cry? For me, it was about an hour ago and it was the solitary broken heart Mary Earps chose to sum up her feelings on the World Cup Final on Instagram.
Same, Mary. Same.
I’m not naturally a football person and never have I been as invested in a football tournament as I have been for this remarkable women’s World Cup. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of talking about it. Here’s just some of the reasons why; good, bad and stupid.
The good
How long have you got?! Picking highlights is near impossible, because there are just too many to choose from.
Watching England, of course, has been one. Lauren James’ absolute screamers against China. All three of the wonderful goals against The Matildas. Enough Mary Earps wonder-saves (and iconic reactions) to fill a book. Sarina Wiegman continuing to prove she’s the best football manager in the world. The feeling of watching an England team in a penalty shootout – because of course there had to be a penalty shootout – with confidence rather than a sense of impending doom. The fans. Sweet Caroline. Everything but the final result.
Elsewhere, you’d have to have a heart of stone not to have rooted for Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz. Having to crowd fund your trip to Australia and then knocking out Brazil? Incredible. Nigeria’s Super Falcons too. And the mighty Matildas; what they’ve done for Australian women’s sport is awe inspiring.
Sam Kerr’s goal against England was a marvel. Ditto Brazil’s Beatriz Zaneratto João’s against Panama. The Republic of Ireland getting their first ever World Cup goal via Katy McCabe’s beautiful curling corner. Germany being knocked out! The USA being knocked out! Football at its very best.
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The bad
Here’s some free advice for men wishing to comment on The Lionesses: if you wouldn’t say it about the men’s team don’t say it about the women’s.
Honestly, the next time I hear a man explain how proud he is of The Lionesses because he’s ‘a dad of daughters’ I’m going to scream. Or maybe I won’t scream. Maybe I’ll just respond, ‘as a daughter of a dad, I really hope Wales do well in the rugby world cup’ and see if this makes them understand how ridiculous the ‘as a dad’ line is. Because when a man says he’s proud of The Lionesses ‘as a dad of daughters’ what he’s actually saying is that women’s sport isn’t something that men really care about. It’s fine that his little girl is inspired by Lauren Hemp, but he never could be. It’s nice that women have a team to root for, let’s give them a pat on the head. It’s patronising, and it makes me sad that so often it’s said with the best of intentions, that it’s genuinely the highest compliment some men can think of.
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The Stupid
I’m afraid we have to talk about Gianni Infantino.
In some ways maybe we should see it as a sign of the progress of equality in the game that he feels the need to say something as ridiculous at the women’s World Cup as he did at the men’s. But good grief.
I’m not going to do him the honour of repeating his speech at any length, you’ve probably seen it already anyway. The summary of his argument is that women need to ‘pick your battles’, the ‘right’ battles, and prove to men like him (a dad of daughters, of course) that they deserve equal pay and equal respect. A reminder: this man is head of FIFA, the big boss of global football, and this is the way he talks about women in his sport.
It’s difficult to know where to start when we’re still faced with views like that from the very, very top of football but equally we can’t let them go unchallenged. This is what I’d say to Mr Infantino, given the chance: the right battles for women to pick, in football and in society, are the battles we choose. They’re the battles for the things we deserve, not because any man tells us we do, but because we know we do. How can you watch a World Cup like the one we just had and argue that women don’t deserve equal pay and equal respect? Maybe because women’s football has so often had to drag itself to where it is now despite FIFA – and despite the FA and the myriad of other national federations who find themselves in dispute with their players.
Women’s sport is about far more than what goes on on the pitch. It’s a movement for social change, it always has been, and it always will be. The sooner men like Infantino try and understand that, the better.
Back to the good
This amazing summer of sport should not be overshadowed, though. I hope, so badly, that this is a real turning point for women’s sport and for women in society.
I hope that people in positions of power in politics and in sport stop telling us about their female relatives and start telling us about how they’re going to contribute to smashing the gender stereotypes that make girls and women feel that sport isn’t for them, what they’re going to do to reform school sport so that it enables girls to thrive, and how they’re going to work across sport to get more women into leadership positions.
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I hope we hear from sponsors how they’re going to make sure that they’re fully investing, in all senses of the word, in women’s sport (and, yes, that means selling women’s goalkeeper shirts). I hope we hear and see more women’s sport across the media; not just during major international tournaments but as a standard part of sports reporting.
I hope the Lionesses recover from their natural disappointment and are able to fully realise what a remarkable thing they’ve done. Not just through being really bloody good at football, but by fully embodying the joy, the resilience, the passion and the grit that makes team sport so wonderful. I know they’ll continue to be wonderful role models for people – not just women and girls – across the country. I know they’ll continue to represent the best of English football.
What a show the Lionesses have put on for us this summer. How crushing it was to watch them lose at the weekend. But my goodness how proud we, and they, should be.