South London's Women Football League Match in Clapham Common
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More girls under 18 now play football than netball, according to a new report by the Times.
16% of all girls in the UK who are engaged in sport now play football, with 15% playing netball.
Football is the world’s most popular sport with more than 5 billion fans and around 260 million players, per a 2021 FIFA report. However, less than 12% of these players are women. Despite this long lived disparity, the popularity of the women’s game has been skyrocketing.
At the grass-roots level, teams like South-West London Women’s FC and Peckham Town FC are advocates for the growth in London.
Lindsay Margaroli, a Peckham Town FC player said she was glad that football could be accepted as a girls sport finally and the stigma was changing to let them play competitively.
She said men’s reaction would be highly critical with statements like “You play football? A woman?” and her stern response was “Yeah? Times have changed”.
Another advocate of the new efforts by the FA to increase female participation is Sam, a South West London League referee.
Many of her concerns used to to be over self funding, “having to pay £300 a season for subs”, but now due more support and encouragement it has become possible to remove the stigma and allow women to comfortably enjoy a game for all.
History
Over time, women’s involvement with football has not been easy. From the late 1800s through to the end of the first World War it was a widespread pastime especially around factories.
However a 50 year ban in 1921 put a harsh end to the women’s game as a lack of participation on FA pitches and funding, female participation faded away.
The FA’s justifications at the time were that the game “is quite unsuitable”, when referring to women’s involvement.
Despite this major setback 1971 kickstarted the reintroduction of the sport in a modern form. FA Pitches allowed practice and games.
They didn’t draw the same crowds but the foundations were put back in place for growth, and how it has grown since then.
The 1990s ushered in a ‘golden era’ of competitive football for women with international competitions like World Cups and European international competitions along with domestic challenges like the WFA cup .
The formation of a 24 club English league and then 2010 Women’s Super League (Premier League equivalent) acts as one of the most recent domestic accomplishments.
Netball support
Despite the statistics, Netball still remains a vital part of women’s sports.
One of the key differences is exposure as the sport isn’t in the Olympics like women’s football, which gains television coverage and club competitions more often as they grow. Netball is not a professional sport but has always appealed to young women.
The head coach of City University Netball team, Sian Daly-East said she was pleased to see the change, in relation to the numbers of women involved in sport overall. It is “empowering to see girls want to take part and show professionalism”.
She did want to still emphasise that Netball, whilst now not as popular, still remains ‘a game for all’.
Looking forward
The future of women’s sports shows no signs of disappearing with football on track to only continue to grow. In the UK alone, thanks to the efforts of the Lionesses victory at the Euros, as many as 50,000 girls will be taking part in the sport going forward.
According to FIFA, there are 29 million women and girls playing football worldwide, with a goal to facilitate 60 million by 2026.
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Short Headline
Standfirst
Published Article
HeadlineThe Changing Face of women’s sports
Short HeadlineFootball vs Netball - scales have been tipped in football's favour
StandfirstFirst time since records began that football overtakes netball as the most popular women's sport.
More girls under 18 now play football than netball, according to a new report by the Times.
16% of all girls in the UK who are engaged in sport now play football, with 15% playing netball.
Football is the world’s most popular sport with more than 5 billion fans and around 260 million players, per a 2021 FIFA report. However, less than 12% of these players are women. Despite this long lived disparity, the popularity of the women’s game has been skyrocketing.
At the grass-roots level, teams like South-West London Women’s FC and Peckham Town FC are advocates for the growth in London.
Lindsay Margaroli, a Peckham Town FC player said she was glad that football could be accepted as a girls sport finally and the stigma was changing to let them play competitively.
She said men’s reaction would be highly critical with statements like “You play football? A woman?” and her stern response was “Yeah? Times have changed”.
Another advocate of the new efforts by the FA to increase female participation is Sam, a South West London League referee.
Many of her concerns used to to be over self funding, “having to pay £300 a season for subs”, but now due more support and encouragement it has become possible to remove the stigma and allow women to comfortably enjoy a game for all.
History
Over time, women’s involvement with football has not been easy. From the late 1800s through to the end of the first World War it was a widespread pastime especially around factories.
However a 50 year ban in 1921 put a harsh end to the women’s game as a lack of participation on FA pitches and funding, female participation faded away.
The FA’s justifications at the time were that the game “is quite unsuitable”, when referring to women’s involvement.
Despite this major setback 1971 kickstarted the reintroduction of the sport in a modern form. FA Pitches allowed practice and games.
They didn’t draw the same crowds but the foundations were put back in place for growth, and how it has grown since then.
The 1990s ushered in a ‘golden era’ of competitive football for women with international competitions like World Cups and European international competitions along with domestic challenges like the WFA cup .
The formation of a 24 club English league and then 2010 Women’s Super League (Premier League equivalent) acts as one of the most recent domestic accomplishments.
Netball support
Despite the statistics, Netball still remains a vital part of women’s sports.
One of the key differences is exposure as the sport isn’t in the Olympics like women’s football, which gains television coverage and club competitions more often as they grow. Netball is not a professional sport but has always appealed to young women.
The head coach of City University Netball team, Sian Daly-East said she was pleased to see the change, in relation to the numbers of women involved in sport overall. It is “empowering to see girls want to take part and show professionalism”.
She did want to still emphasise that Netball, whilst now not as popular, still remains ‘a game for all’.
Looking forward
The future of women’s sports shows no signs of disappearing with football on track to only continue to grow. In the UK alone, thanks to the efforts of the Lionesses victory at the Euros, as many as 50,000 girls will be taking part in the sport going forward.
According to FIFA, there are 29 million women and girls playing football worldwide, with a goal to facilitate 60 million by 2026.
