Euro 2022 has all the ingredients to be a breakthrough moment for women’s football in England.
A peak television audience of 17 million, the biggest UK audience for a programme in 2022 so far, tuned in to watch England beat Germany in the final. Attendance records were smashed in the group stages of the tournament, and 87,192 people attended the final – the most for any Euros fixture, men’s or women’s.
However, we do need to exercise caution around claims of watershed moments for women’s sport. In the US, major soccer tournaments have led to only minimal changes in media coverage of women’s sport. We need to ensure that when the dust settles, women’s football is not relegated back to the margins.
