"You're Actually Good For A Girl": Women in Football

*Layah Douglas is a defender for Bristol Rover’s Womens FC (also known as The Gas Girls).

Although women’s football has seen a massive improvement in support, there are still many inequalities in women’s football. These include media coverage, funding, pay gaps, facilities etc. Women still continue to face discrimination against them whether they are a player, supporter, or just show an interest into the game of football. 91.9% of female football supporters have witnessed online sexist abuse targeted at women and 63.1% of fans have experienced it themselves (The Independent, 2021).

Being a player, there has been times where I have faced discrimination, as well as some of my teammates. One example is, during pre season training. We were doing strength and conditioning training, and a guy passing by proceeded to shout at the strength and conditioning coach that he was “wasting his time” as we are women. These are the types of comments that I would see online directed at others on social media, and this can have a huge impact on a players mental health and their enjoyment for the game. 

Having played for a boy’s team when I was younger, it really opened my eyes up to the discrimination women face in the sport. The team I played for were really supportive of me at all times. However, I could tell other teams would look at me differently, or think they would have an advantage over me because of my gender. Growing up wanting to play football, I found it hard to find a female role model due to the lack of media coverage and social media interest into women’s football. Until I played for my first female academy, I only used to look up to male role models. But, once I had started, playing for a girls team, it then pushed me to keep going and want to inspire more girls to get into the sport. 

As my love for football grew, I would play in parks and would get picked last to go on a team until they saw that I could actually play. Then I would get told “you’re actually good for a girl” and at the time I would take it as a compliment, and would be grateful for their validation. However, looking back now, it’s sad that my potential was underestimated because of my gender and that I had to ‘prove’ that I was good enough. 

After the women’s Euros in 2022 with a total match attendance across the tournament of 574,875 and a record breaking final with 87,192 attendees, women’s football has gained a massive interest and is certainly growing. The women’s Euros has had a major impact on women’s football - schools and grassroots teams have grown since women’s football was banned in 1921 for 50 years. One massive improvement we have seen in the sport is that Wales men and women’s team will have equal pay when playing for their country after a deal was made. 

It makes me proud to see how far women’s football has come and it inspires me to keep playing. Hopefully, with the positive attitudes towards the sport, we can inspire and continue the younger generation of girls wanting to play. 

Reference:

The Independent, More Than 90% of Female Fans Have Seen Sexist Abuse Online, New Survey Reveals (available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/female-fans-survey-results-b1893788.html)