‘This is a profound moment, I hope, not just for Spain but as a reminder to other federations of the importance of their women’s teams,” Emma Hayes says as, during an absorbing interview, she considers the poisonous aftermath of a brilliant World Cup. The Chelsea manager, who has done more than anyone to raise the standards of English women’s football, cares about the game across the world. She praises the courage of the Spanish players who stood up to their federation, while lamenting the loss felt by those women whose principles meant that they withdrew from the World Cup. But Hayes’s concern extends far beyond Spain.
“We’re talking about the need for real system change,” she says. “I’m still wondering, did everyone get paid across the World Cup? Did Jamaica get paid? Did those Colombian girls get paid? Colombia made the quarter-final and had to take something like three flights back home. Would this happen to a men’s team? But I always believe progress is evolutionary, and this is just another step in the women’s game which is coming down from the north of Europe, from England and France, now Spain, and hopefully the same happens across the world.”
