Why Lionesses’ legacy could be thrown away
I FOUND the Women’s Euro 2022 tournament extremely emotional, from the opening game in front of 70,000 at Old Trafford, right through to the final at Wembley in front of 87,000 with millions more watching at home in pubs and fan zones across the country.
From the start, I knew the impact this tournament could have on the game and the help it would give in the growth and development of the women’s game.
I have two daughters who play the game, Maggie and Florrie. Both play for their local village side, Cosby United Youth and Juniors FC, of which, for my sins, I am also the chairman.
Cosby is a unique football club in that we currently have more girls’ teams than boys.’ The girls league in Leicestershire is run extremely well and the growth in the number of teams at junior level is amazing. You can see from the numbers that the interest for participation is there.
I found it emotional because of the conversations I have with my eldest daughter and also the questions she will ask me about why the system is rigged, and also the number of battles we have to have with local authorities and schools to try and get a level playing surface.
Why can the boys play at break times but the girls can’t? Honestly, that was the first battle.
Why do the boys get four days in which they can play football and the girls only one? We moved the goalposts slightly.
Why have the boys got a school team and not the girls? We got there eventually.
Why have the boys got changing rooms and not the girls?
Not only do the girls not have changing rooms at Cosby, they don’t even have a toilet they can use. The facility was built in the 1980s for men to use and men only.
We still have no toilet, even after countless meetings and campaigns, nothing for the girls to use safely.
If the girls need the toilet they have to use the men’s toilet with a parent standing guard outside.
I have met with the council on numerous occasions, I have submitted proposals for funding to the football foundation, I have designed alterations to the block to make it more accessible, but still nothing.
I even went as far to apply to be a member of the council, but they thought my sole interest would be in the promotion of the football facilities and rejected my application.
There was a time when the cashstarved council was no longer cutting the pitches and employed a cheap contractor who didn’t turn up. As a result, I was having to cut the pitches with a borrowed petrol mower just so we had a patch of grass to train on.
All of these battles and conversations were inside of me for every game, and the emotions of those came out every time. It was baggage I was having to carry that I shouldn’t have had to carry, but this is girls’ football and we are not equal.
This team of Lionesses has aided all who fight for the women’s game.
When I go to those meetings with the local authorities, I will no longer have both hands tied behind my back – just the one. In time, both hands will be free and before you know it I may even have some gloves on.
The game is growing at grassroots level and that is fantastic, but the game is not ready for the growth that is about to hit it. The infrastructure is already inadequate, the facilities are great at some clubs and very poor at others.
More players means more teams, which will mean more games on those old grass pitches that cashstarved councils have been neglecting for the past 12 years.
Clubs are already moving to earlier and earlier kick-off times to accommodate the need to fit matches in and it will only be a matter of time before the pitches become overplayed and ruined. One wet winter and the growth will start to disappear.
Lots of clubs are traditionally boys’ clubs. In recent times, due to the interest and the level of funding they can get through the girls’ game, they have started girls’ and women’s sections, which of course is fantastic, but if we don’t improve the foundations of the game, my fear is it will be the girls’ sections that fall first and the boys will get the priority.
We desperately need more artificial pitches for clubs so they have places to train and play throughout the year, regardless of the weather; we desperately need better changing facilities for the girls’ teams and, in our own case, even a toilet would be nice.
Without this investment, the facilities won’t be able to keep pace with the growth and the legacy this Lionesses team has created could be lost.
Richard Woolerton, chairman, Cosby United Youth & Juniors FC