Hate towards women’s football; where does it come from?
Events of the past week broke records. The WSL match between Arsenal and Manchester United shattered the league’s attendance record, with numbers reaching slightly over 60,000. Across Europe, stadium numbers reached over 90,000. Particularly for the women of Barcelona. Even global competitions such as the European Championships and the World Cup drew in dramatically higher numbers than previous years. Women of the beautiful game slowly are becoming household names, earning millions every year, and building respected portfolios of sponsorships from the likes of Nike and Adidas. So, within all the growth and building positivity, why does the women’s game still face so much hate?
HISTORY MAKING, ANGER CREATING
In 2022, The Lionesses made history. The 23-woman squad defeated Germany in the final and yet, people still overshadowed the win with online abuse directed at the winners. Several Lionesses spoke out, stating their personal experiences with online sexist hate after the competition. Many still look down on women’s football. A popularized opinion holds that women should stick to ‘feminine sports’, which results in girls opting for something else.
THE STANDOUT DIFFERENCE
Many factors contribute to the hate women receive for playing and enjoying football. Public opinion, particularly online, focuses on technical differences between the men’s and women’s games. Women’s football trails men’s by light years in almost everything. Football’s technicality and difficulty attract viewers who rave about it week after week – the strike of the ball, the power, the tap on, the flick back. Advocates notice and judge every minor detail. Even the greatest of all times will be questioned.
The women’s game lacks the technical equality witnessed in the men’s game, and this factor leads to overall hate and harsh judgments. A 2020 study outlined the separation between men’s and women’s football, providing evidence that women’s football shows less technique, with more mistakes than men’s, contributing to the misconstrued belief that women’s football is inferior.
(Casal, C. A., Losada, J. L., Maneiro, R., & Ardá, A. (2020). Gender differences in technical tactical behaviour of La Liga Spanish football teams. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 16(1), 1-16)
PUT IT ON THE TV
More women’s football appears on TV than ever before. A multimillion pound deal with The FA, Sky Sports and BBC solidified for the women’s super league. Televised football matches become more equal; however, huge financial differences exist. For the 2023 women’s World Cup, broadcasters offered only $1-$10 million whilst for the men’s World Cup, they offered $100-$200 million. Men’s football clearly has more popularity currently. However, women’s football grows faster than money does.
THE FUTURE OF THE WOMENS GAME
Although on the surface hate towards women’s football comes from a technical perspective, the historic element of sexism and judgment tops the list of reasons football fans, particularly men, voice outspoken and outlandish dislike of women playing football. Although many view trailing ability as footballing inability, women’s football has a lot of catching up to do. Love for the game grows in households formerly only showing men’s matches, and parents now encourage rather than discourage young girls to play the sport they love. Though haters will always exist, those who love football simply pay them no attention.
