She quickly spins a modest pirouette when she scores. Florence Aromire is one of eight children frantically dribbling back and forth on Trafalgar Square’s soccer field. And go, she has to go through again, because the ball threatens to go to the other side. The occasional teams don’t do a kick-off from the center spot after a goal during this game of street football.
For the first time during an international women’s tournament, the football sponsors in the heart of London have a ‘fan zone’ constructed. The boys and girls wear funny Lego helmets and there is a long queue for the free T-shirts that Volkswagen is handing out. Their advertising poster reads: “Men play football and women play ‘women’s football’? What? Enough of that! #NotWomensfootball.”
On Sunday, the English women will play the final of the European Football Championship against Germany, in a sold-out Wembley stadium that can accommodate 90,000 fans. Florence watches the game at home, just like probably a record number other Britons. She is eleven years old, plays football fanatically and of course she hopes that England will become champions. “That’s my team.”
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Whoever wins, at least one goal has been accomplished. In host country England, the tournament and the success of their own team have greatly increased the enthusiasm for women’s football. The Lionesses and their Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman see it – besides winning – as their mission to set an example for young football players. “The motto has been used a million times. But if you can’t see it, you can’t be it. We are very aware of that,” said the director of women’s football at the English Football Association FA . against the commercial channel Sky Sports.
More attention to competition
The development of women’s football is much further in England than in the Netherlands. Since 2018, the Women’s Super League has been fully professional, which means that the players can make a living from football. Main sponsor Barclays announced at the end of last year that it would invest £30 million (35.8 million euros) in the coming years in the competition and the development of training opportunities for girls and women.
English clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City – all three of whom are very wealthy foreign owners – are investing millions in their women’s teams. Many daily newspapers pay attention to the women’s competition every week as standard. And last season’s ratings were, according to BBC and Sky Sports almost four times as high as the season before, partly thanks to a mutual agreement that the BBC can broadcast a number of matches for free. It increases visibility and that in turn increases the attraction for sponsors.
All this while women’s football was banned in England for decades. According to the football association, because it would be “rather inappropriate and physically risky” for them. In 1971 the FA lifted the ban under pressure from home and abroad and women’s football started catching up that is still in full swing.
Without a doubt, this European Championship accelerates that development. In the most fanatically decorated block of houses in London, the balconies are covered with English flags and the showpiece a mural from striker Fran Kirby. Many pubs broadcast the matches live, at the BBC mainly female analysts provide commentary. Local clubs are seeing an increasing number of girls wanting to join and professional clubs are reporting higher season ticket sales.
“I really see this tournament as a turning point,” says Sarah Adams. She has come to Trafalgar Square with her three children. She says she played soccer semi-professionally and stopped when life demanded different things from her. “I have always followed women’s football. I see change especially in the children. They now enjoy looking at the women as much as they do at the men. That was not the case a few years ago.”
Lack of diversity
At the same time, girls’ access to football in England is far from equal to that for boys. For example, Florence Aromire would love to join a club, but they don’t have girls’ teams near her in west London. “There is a football club ten minutes’ walk away, but for a club with a girls’ team we have to drive twenty minutes.” She has to join the boys at school. “I like that less.” Her older sister Femi – she stands on the sidelines – has stopped playing football for exactly this reason.
A point of criticism is the lack of diversity in the English team. The current selection has only three players with an ethnically mixed background. Dark-skinned girls like Florence and Femi don’t really recognize themselves in the predominantly blond women. “It would be nice if it became more inclusive,” says Femi, “then everyone will get the feeling that the top is achievable”. This also has to do with the poorer access to sport for girls, the football association acknowledges. For example, clubs organize transport for boys to training facilities outside the city, while girls have to arrange this themselves. Not everyone can afford that.
In the run-up to Sunday’s game, the public excitement in England is certainly not as great as when the men reached the final last year. Their success brought a sense of solidarity to years of pent-up Brexit division and corona frustration. But the men lost on penalties from Italy. The women can now live up to what their fans love to sing out loud: Football is coming home, it’s coming home.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of 30 July 2022