As I jumped and roared with the rest of Wembley as the glittering Lionesses were crowned Queens of Europe, after beating Germany 2-1 AET and Chloe Kelly’s iconic Brandi Chastain-esque celebration, my double consciousness finally boiled over. It was very gratifying to witness professional women’s football bring football home before the men and finally overcome their inferiority complex in a refreshingly mixed crowd – a record 574,875 people attending Euro 2022 in total. But contrary to popular opinion, I was also very concerned that this historic victory would also be used to justify the conditional inclusion of the women’s game.
Julian Finney – The FAfake images
I played an alternate version of ‘Where’s Wally’ throughout the tournament, searching largely in vain for other black women or other women of color among the 16 teams that competed, as well as the coaching staff and officials. As the founder of SEASON zine, a soccer and fashion platform to counter the masculine, pale (and sometimes outdated) state of soccer culture, I found that confronting this uncomfortable truth again shortly after devoting the number 09 to joy black and the black soccer community deflated me. Visibility matters and the lack of playing time for Nikita Parris (minutes against Germany and Spain), Jess Carter (minutes against Northern Ireland) and Demi Stokes (didn’t play at all) underscored how far the Lionesses’ ethnic diversity has receded since then. Hope Powell CBE management between 1998 and 2013. Alex Scott, Rachel Yankey, Lianne Sanderson, Eni Aluko and other women of color were Lionesses who changed the game once.
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Acknowledging that something needs to change to create a football future in which everyone feels truly welcome, safe and represented on and off the pitch is not a criticism of the current players or coach Sarina Wiegman. But there are definitely things we can learn from the French team’s scouting system. The semi-finalists fielded 15 black or brown players in their 23-woman squad for Euro 2022; I enjoyed their dazzling performances, especially France 5-1 Italy, as much as their hairstyles, crowning Kadidiatou Diani, who wore purple braids, as my new favorite player. I was finally able to see it and believe it for elite players of color.
In 2020, the Football Association (FA) announced that 3.4 million women and girls played football in the UK. That figure will certainly increase after the victory of the European Championship; BarBend found that Google searches for “football lessons” increased by 665% the day after the Euro 2022 final. So why aren’t up-and-coming talents from diverse backgrounds discovered and nurtured more consistently for lionesses?
Harriet Landerfake images
“At grassroots level, there are very few pipelines of talent for the England team in central London, and even fewer training facilities – they are mostly based in the predominantly white suburbs and suburbs,” shares Katee Hui, Canadian-born Briton who founded the vibrant Hackney Laces community football club in 2011. The club has since expanded with three sister clubs and now supports over 200 girls in East London with football training and career opportunities. empowerment, plus kicks with local England player Lotte Wubben-Moy. “I spent time as a coach taking talented players of racial origin to tryouts on public transportation miles away, only for the player to decide there were too many barriers for them to continue going.”
In their post-Euro gloss, the entire Lionesses team wrote and signed an open letter urging Tory leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to give all girls equal access to football in PE at school. ‘The reality is that we are inspiring young girls to play football only for many to end up going to school and not being able to play,’ the players write. Arsenal legend and pundit Ian Wright called for the same reform after the semi-finals and at the moment 63% of schools offer women’s football in PE classes and 40% offer women’s football after school.
History-making players drawing on their own experiences against all odds to try to hold the future prime minister to account makes a powerful statement, and the FA is already implementing ambitious reforms that will be revolutionary if fully realized. The governing body expects 90% of schools in England to join the FA Women’s Football Schools Association network by 2024, providing a comprehensive pathway and female-friendly training for girls across the country.
But it all hinges on the accessibility of football pitches, a common complaint among women’s and non-binary grassroots teams, which is compounded by the loss of 710 municipal football pitches in Britain between 2010 and 2018, according to a GMB research. Free slots that can be booked during the European Championship were set aside to temporarily resolve the issue. ‘[Adidas initiative] “Pitch, Please” was great and an amazing location, but it was only available on weekends which was really inconvenient for our team. And it wasn’t really ‘free’, as our faces were still used for content in the branding arena,’ says Nicole Chui, Baesianz FC co-founder and embroidery artist. She launched the London-based outfit to celebrate women, trans and non-binary people of Asian descent, a representation seriously lacking elsewhere.
Rob Newell – CameraSportfake images
But, when it comes to intersectionality, the standards set by independent initiatives like this in terms must also reach the elite of men’s and women’s football. “It is shocking that there are more LGBTQ+ players playing in the final than the entire men’s Premier League. At the same time, there is a notable absence of trans people in women’s football,” adds Hannah-Lily Lanyon, who plays grassroots football for Goal Diggers FC. Addressing the barriers that marginalized and minority players may face playing soccer directly, the non-profit The Club reserves slots for older players, trans players, players of color and those with lower incomes.
Only trans players who want to play in professional and semi-professional leagues need to apply to the FA to play in their stated gender, which is assessed on a case-by-case basis, and meet specific hormone and surgery requirements. “Grassroots football shows every day that trans women are a brilliant asset to our teams and we need to celebrate that on a professional level. We want a commitment from football organizing bodies and sponsors to trans and queer inclusion that goes beyond a rainbow flag and allows players to be themselves on the pitch,” Hannah continues.
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Ultimately, greater inclusion in women’s football is possible if meaningful action at all levels is coordinated. While Katee, Nicole, Hannah, and I agree to lead by example at the grassroots level, the far-reaching changes that government agencies and sponsors can drive will safeguard and accelerate progress for generations to come. As Hannah puts it, “If we want to see a truly inclusive team in ten years, commitments to better access to playing space for grassroots teams, more funding for inner city girls to access coaching, equal pay for players and a commitment to trans-inclusiveness needs to start now.’
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Source: www.elle.com