Let’s hear it for the girls
THIS summer is shaping up to be the greatest ever for women’s sport in England.
The cricketers won their World Cup, Johanna Konta became the first Englishwoman to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon since 1978, the rugby players go into this month’s World Cup as holders, England’s hockey team enter the European Championships as Olympic champions, and the footballers go into tonight’s Euros semi-finals as tournament favourites.
Yet their achievements are constantly referenced back to the men. As in social media posts saying “at least there’s one English team that can win a World Cup, women put the men to shame, etc.” That’s the most patronising context in which to view these world-beating achievements.
Look at the 1.1million viewers who watched the women’s cricket final on Sky, and the 3.3m who tuned into the football quarter-final with France.
That audience could double if England beat the Netherlands tonight and reach Sunday’s final.
Meaning women’s sport may begin to get the respect and the money it deserves, as broadcasters, advertisers and sponsors see a market.
This summer could see the start of a subtle shift towards gender equality on TV that is far more meaningful than the choice of a new Doctor Who.
SOMETIMES football fans, pained by what is happening to their club, produce the most poignant of words.
Like these on the Sunderland Echo website, at the end of the story about a worsefor-wear Darron Gibson (above) telling fans some home truths about the goings on at The Stadium Of Light:
“Heart and soul ripped out of club. Supporters orbiting a nothingness of management and team,” wrote a poster called Paddock. “Third-rate players at a second-rate club owned by a moneygrabbing owner who couldn’t give a t**s,” wrote Jeff Stoddart. I couldn’t articulate the club’s current lamentable plight any better.