Women’s football: in a league of its own

So far, so England. Except for one difference. This wasn’t Gareth Southgate’s men, but the women’s team (managed by Phil Neville). And even though the Lionesses lost, their success mirrored the increasing popularity of the women’s game in Britain – with fans, players and blue-chip sponsors all wanting a slice of the action.

Josie Le Vay is a journalist who writes about women’s football – as well as being a keen player herself. She travelled to the World Cup last year.

“I ended up going to the tournament because the tickets were so cheap,” she says. “There was an incredible atmosphere – it was friendly and affordable. In contrast to that, I went to my first Premier League game – Liverpool v Wolves – recently, and it felt much more intimidating. At a women’s game, all the fans sit together. There’s no negativity, and you never worry about violence.”

Women’s football has been running nearly as long as the men’s game in Britain with clubs like Dick, Kerr Ladies (a factory team from Preston) attracting crowds of up to 53,000 for matches from 1917. However, in 1921 the FA banned women from playing soccer on the spurious grounds that it damaged their bodies – though in likelihood it was more to do with the fact that some ladies’ teams were attracting larger crowds than their male counterparts. It was only in 1969 that the Women’s FA was formed, which was incorporated into the FA in 1993.

Today, the core of female football in England is the Women’s Super League, which began in 2010. Made up of 12 professional teams, it features women’s subsidiaries of Premier League clubs like Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea. And while the competition had a slow start in its early days, it’s started to attract increasing attendances as well as a £10m sponsorship deal from Barclays Bank.

“Women’s football is the best it’s ever been in terms of engagement,” says Claire Broomfield, who writes about the game for the Daily Mail. “It’s much more visible – the majority of the national papers are in the press boxes at weekends. The viewer numbers peak at one million for the weekly highlights show. Social media has also been strong, enabling young fans to connect with players.”

The strength of women’s football here has been shown by the quality of overseas stars the WSL is attracting. Josie Le Vay again.

“In the past, a lot of female players went to the USA to play,” she says. “Now they’re coming here. The Australian Sam Kerr has just signed for Chelsea, and that’s a big deal. At Arsenal, they’ve got the Netherlands international Vivianne Miedema who I think is one of the best players in the world.”

It’s not all good news, however. Claire Broomfield recently ran an expose in the Daily Mail on the paltry wages many teams pay, plus the below-par facilities players are forced to use.