Scratch the surface of women’s football and it is like Instagram v reality
When I played for England, we had a saying that each individual was a custodian of the shirt and it was their job to leave it in a better place by the time they finished. I see my role in leading the review into women’s football in a similar vein, hoping that through the efforts of the team that took part we will have done the same for the game as a whole through our research and recommendations.
The headlines in the women’s game make it look as if it is in a healthy position: records for attendances and TV viewing figures are frequently being broken, and England are the European champions. Nothing can take away from these great achievements but it is like Instagram v reality, and the latter is worrying and we need to address it. We scratched beneath the surface to identify issues that need rectifying.
Trying to manage and navigate such a wide-ranging project while ensuring I gave it the care and attention that it deserved was the hardest part, and making sure no stone was left unturned has been a challenge. Every fan, player and stakeholder in women’s football deserved this review to be the best it could be and I put a lot of pressure on myself to ensure that was the case.
Four years into retirement, I had hoped the game had moved on in certain areas and in some aspects it has but in others it is still the same as I knew it when playing. I spoke to many current and former players and found out that elements within the professional game are not up to the standards we should strive for. It annoyed me that in 2023 we have incredible women, who are seen as elite athletes, being treated as second-class citizens.
We need to be providing the best environment not just for players but for fans and staff, too. The sport deserves that. There need to be minimum standards across the board and we have spelled out what it is going to take to achieve these goals. Players deserve a minimum salary, the best medical care and facilities, and support when transitioning out of their playing careers.
The aim was to be punchy and bold to help improve the sport but we had to be pragmatic. We are not here to make headlines, we are here to make change. I could easily have made a recommen
dation that would have taken the focus away from everything else in the review but was not part of the thinking. We had to focus on what requires the most work immediately. I am sure in years to come another team of people will review what the next steps are to improve women’s football and look at different areas but I am confident our work will put the sport in a better place by turning the sport from vicious cycles into a virtuous one.
The levels of participation have been increasing over a lengthy period and we need to allow those who want to play the opportunity to do so within a welcoming environment and with the best facilities available, on and off the pitch. It is not just about having the best at an elite level; we need to have improvements across all levels of the game to make sure it is inclusive to girls and women across all age groups and backgrounds. The sport is growing in popularity and we need to act on this to ensure it continues on an upward trajectory.
I am sure there is going to be pushback when something is suggested that costs money but all the recommendations are cost-effective. Businesswise I believe women’s football is in the startup phase and requires investment but I am fully confident that people will get a return on their money. In the next 10 years, with changes, the women’s game could be a £1bn industry. The immediate outlay may seem like a big ask but in a decade it will be seen as one of the best investments that will ever happen.
The Women’s Super League was in effect launched as a semi-professional entity in 2011. It has come along over that time and we are at the point where England are European champions. But we cannot put the focus on that. This is a massive turning point in the women’s game andwe need to move forward by resetting and reinvesting as we did 12 years ago. There are plenty of examples of people raising the standards and we want this to be widespread.
I am asking for minimum standards to be raised and this review shows what it will cost. If this is not acted upon, we are going to miss an opportunity and the momentum the game has gathered in recent years will eventually be lost, leaving a sport that is built on sand to inevitably fall away.
I hope people take the time to read the review and the recommendations that I have put forward. It is upon the stakeholders involved to act with urgency to ensure we do not miss an opportunity to build on recent successes. I want the review to spark conversations and educate people on the issues within the game, and I hope that will instigate the positive change required.