Women’s football has seen incredible achievements within most recent years due to the shift in support from fans. Our sporting life released a phenomenal statistic which proves how swiftly women within football has increased over the years: “As of December 2022, 777,000 girls play football in England which is an increase of 669,000 just four years earlier.” (MacNaught, 2023). The result of such increase is due to the intense development work taken by national associations and the overall growth of the women’s game.
One of the key reasons it is one of the fastest-growing sports is down to the wide accessibility in which females can watch and support. Ahead of the 2021/22 season “the Football Association announced a record-breaking three-year deal… for the broadcast rights to the Women’s Super League.” (Graham, 2022). Since the deal, viewing figures have doubled purely down to the fact that anyone can access the games and educate themselves on the sport. This agreement allows younger girls to become inspired to be like the sporting stars on their television. Further, “the revenue these broadcast deals bring in are distributed across the WSL and Women’s Championship,” (Graham, 2022). which means the growth for teams and investment into better facilities.
In 2022, England triumphed by bringing home a win of the Euro’s which brought a major surge in sporting aspirations among younger girls. After the televised success, “nearly 70% of girls who love playing sport now dream of reaching the top,” (skysports.com, 2022). which proves incredible progress despite the gender inequalities that remain. Due to the continuous victory of the Lionesses, there are now numerous, wide-spread campaigns that help young girls in school have equal access to the sport. Barclays and England Football have produced an experience to allow girls in education to participate in football without barriers or stereotypes. This boosts the confidence of females and inspires them to become like the players they are watching succeed on their television. It is clear in the statistics that this campaign is heavily influential in getting women and girls participating in fair and equal sport.
