Women’s football identity crisis
By John Cushing, Dec 2023
As Team GB missed out on a football place at the Olympics in Paris next summer, it prompted something I've been mulling over for a while, particularly after that shameful and outrageous end to the Women's World Cup - the Spanish kiss on the podium! Yes, England's Lionesses' 6-0 victory against Scotland was impressive, but ultimately, over the course of 6 group matches, they failed to qualify for the finals of the new Nations League tournament. Are you keeping up? It's hard to - just as the Lionesses players have found! So this is what I've been thinking for a while, the men’s game isn’t, and should not be, the blueprint, the women’s game has the opportunity to do things differently and strike out on its own.
There's an obvious reason, some men will never understand the game, give it a chance or even support it, so why are we trying to tell people it's the same game. But I actually believe it's already a totally different sport from the men's game (both on and off the field & thankfully to many of us!) as the pace of it allows for more skill, more inclusivity and I think with the continued support of the media, it has the potential to change the sporting lives of a generation of young people in this country, and probably the world. And if it’s a different sport it needs different decision makers. I really think it needs women leading the way - a bit like Karen Carney's recent investigation and recommendations. FIFA will also be an old boys network, so strike out on your own!
Which brings me onto why I've written this now. Whatever most of this country thinks, football is an integral part of the Olympics and that gold medal means just as much, or even more to places like Brazil and Argentina (just ask Neymar and Messi), than golds on the rowing lake or running track. When I was in Rio in 2016, the equivalent to ‘Super Saturday’ at the athletics stadium was half empty, the Volleyball was packed every night (unthinkable at London 2012) while the famous Maracana for a Brazilian football match was spine tingling in its atmosphere! It’s quite simple after the World Cup, Olympic women's football is the second biggest tournament in the women's game - even bigger than the Euros that England so famously won at Wembley of course. But you wouldn't know that, from the fact this new Nations League has been created (again copying a men's format idea), to decide the European Olympic qualifiers, and the group matches are played just weeks after the World Cup finished in Australia. England manager Sarina Wiegman, who would have led Team GB if they'd have qualified for Paris, told the BBC after missing out "in the bigger picture we have to look at the calendar and think that the players are not robots and they need some rest too, that's very obvious." We've said for years men's football is too packed - now we're recreating the issue for the women! And why? Ultimately because decisions around women's football are being made by people who are so caught up in the men's game. It also means Paris 2024 will actually suffer as it won't have the World Cup Finalists in the tournament - or the equivalent anyway in Team GB.
My esteemed colleague Michael got it spot on on socials last night - a Team GB gold medal would've meant more for the sport than winning the Euros and reaching a World Cup Final. Now we must wait until 2028 for the next opportunity, assuming the suits at the FA, the SFA and Welsh FA agree to it, of course!
This podcast isn't anti-football, it was set up to highlight everything away from the merry go round of the Premier League. British sport is exceptional across so many fields. Women's football is already setting a trend and the likes of Ella Toone and Alessio Russo are shining examples for our young people. Now the game needs to come together on their own and work out the best way forward to ensure the world's best, are able to perform at the world's greatest show every 4 years!
