Women stake their claim in world football
THE US returned to the pinnacle of women’s soccer with a 5-2 crushing of Japan in last weekend’s Women’s World Cup final at the end of a riveting tournament that pushed the sport into new territory.
The Americans last triumphed in 1999, but women’s soccer is a vastly different sport to what it was a decade-and-ahalf ago, with new nations forging their way into the elite amid unprecedented global interest.
As Golden Ball winner Carli Lloyd demonstrated with her astonishing 16-minute hat-trick in the final, including a goal from the halfway line, the women’s game is delivering a level of excitement and quality that was nonexistent in the 1990s.
Before the final all that was missing from the tournament in Canada was a star, a player who could symbolise the new status of women’s soccer.
Once play had started in Vancouver, it took a little more than a quarter of an hour for Lloyd to emerge as the flag-bearer for a new generation.
On Sunday, 53 341 fans packed into BC Place and millions tuned in around the world to see an American team annihilate the defending champions by storming to a 4-0 lead in 16 minutes.
The onslaught was a cue for the American crowd to start the party early with the Stars and Stripes flying high and proud.
The growth of the women’s game should ensure the US will take on a strong and diverse field in France in 2019.
There will be girls around the world seeing Lloyd’s brilliance and dreaming that they, too, might lead their nation to glory.
There have been plenty of players from other nations who will go home to discover they have become role models.
England had been slow to warm to the women’s game but the success of the Lionesses in securing third place catapulted them to prominence.
Australia, beaten by Japan in the quarterfinals, have an impressive women’s programme and hope to challenge for regional dominance. The Matildas showed their growing promise by beating Brazil in the second round, but South America is also showing signs of improvement with Colombia impressing many by reaching the last 16.
France played exhilarating football before their quarterfinal exit and the Netherlands are catching up. There are signs of African teams such as Nigeria and Cameroon closing the gap.
“Women’s football is a global game now, we have seen that at this tournament,” England coach Mark Sampson said. “Who would have thought that Colombia would have produced the performances they have produced? I have been to France and seen the size of their programme. The game is growing.”
TV ratings have long been strong in North America but, even despite late night kick-off times, countries such as France, Germany and England saw record numbers tuning in, measured no longer in thousands but in millions.
In Europe, big clubs from the men’s game — Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain and Manchester City — are investing in their women’s teams and that trend is likely to spread further. —
There have been plenty of players who have become role models