The Women's Euros got underway last week and despite years of evidence suggesting I should feel otherwise, I find myself hugely optimistic that England can finally end the nation’s international football hoodoo and be crowned champions.
The girls got off to the dream start with a comfortable 1-0 win versus Austria on Wednesday, however rather than using this column to talk about Fran Kirby’s delightful assist, Beth Mead’s cheeky lob or England’s resolute defending; I actually want to talk about the crowd.
The 68,000 fans who flocked to Old Trafford created an atmosphere that was just as passionate as any men’s international match that I have witnessed; however what struck me was how different the temperament of the supporters felt.
There was a clearly detectable air of goodwill and happiness. It also felt like that positive tone wasn’t dependant on the matches result. There was none of the aggression that so often associated with a men’s football crowd. When the ball went out for a corner for example, there wasn’t hundreds of obscene hand gestures in the background – just cheering, clapping and smiles.
I may be late to the party, or perhaps it is that I am seeing football through a different prism, given that I am a relatively new mother of two, but attending a women’s international match with my family strikes me are far more appealing that attending a men’s game.
I have always maintained that I will take my children to the football "when they are old enough". What is clear though, is that the age in which they will be "old enough" very much differs with regards to the men and women’s games – and that feels quite sad.
Do you agree with Sam Quek? Let us know in the comments below!
For a women’s match, I would be more than content to take them when I am confident they can sit through 90 minutes in the same seat. So probably when they are aged 6 or 7. With the men’s game though, I would consider them “old enough” when I didn’t have to explain what all the choice swearwords that were being shouted around us meant.
They would have to be old enough to understand that the person getting so angry at the referee was just being a prat and that they didn’t need to be scared. They would have to be old enough to understand that the people throwing things at the players were idiots too and that was wrong.
They would have to be old enough to understand why there were so many policemen and women, because they might have to stop the supporters fighting each other. They wouldn’t have to be old enough to understand why supporters fight each other though, after all, I am 33 years old and I still haven’t worked that one out.
There have long been debates as to how the women’s game can grow whilst competing with the men’s game. For me, it shouldn’t be competing at all and could actually benefit from distancing itself from the men’s game as a product.
These Euros have already shown that the matchday experience of women’s international football seems a completely different and indeed, far more appealing offering to me nowadays.
Short Bite
Raheem Sterling signing for Chelsea seems far too sensible a transfer. Manchester City are getting a decent fee and Chelsea are getting a tried and tested Premier League starter who is still just 27 years old. He would be a great first addition and quite the feather in the cap for the new owners.
