Lionesses defender Lotte Wubben-Moy believes the senior women’s squad is not reflective of England’s demographic and has called for more work to be done to make the game more diverse, not only on the pitch but in the game’s upper echelons.
Football in England has faced a reckoning in recent months regarding its apparent lack of accessibility and diversity.
The Lionesses squad came under particular scrutiny during last summer’s European Championships due to a perceived dearth in diversity. Of the 23-player squad, only three – Jess Carter, Demi Stokes and Nikita Parris – were of Black or mixed heritage.
The squad and the Football Association have routinely acknowledged the glaring lack of representation within the squad. The FA announced earlier this year a major shake-up to the existing Women’s and Girls’ Player Pathway which promised to allow 95% of players access to an Emerging Talent Centre (ETC) within one hour of where they live by 2024.
The remodel bids to address the disproportionate representation at senior level.
Nevertheless, this summer’s Women’s World Cup squad has only two non-White players, Jess Carter and Lauren James.
And Arsenal defender Wubben-Moy, who was called into Sarina Wiegma’s 23-player squad earlier this year, has called out the warped representation not only on the pitch but in the game’s decision-making areas.
“It’s not difficult to see that there is a lack of diversity in the Lionesses squad,” the 24-year-old told SkySports. “It doesn’t reflect London, it doesn’t reflect the country’s demographic as a whole.
“But I don’t think it’s a matter of looking onto the pitch at the team that’s fielded out there. It’s looking at the boardrooms, in the scouting rooms, in the coaching staff, where you don’t see the reflection of London or England.
“As a whole we need to look not only on the pitch but on the broader spectrum. We need to do a better job of reflecting society as a whole and I know there’s more change to come in that respect.”
The London native was visiting a football pitch she used to frequent as a young girl that is now adorned with images of herself and other women playing football.
Wubben-Moy expressed her delight at the newly enhanced pitch and underlined the important role showcasing such images can play in empowering young girls on and off the pitch.
“I think it feels amazing,” she said when asked about the pitch’s new look. “Not so much my face plastered all over here but the beautiful bodies. I remember playing here three or four hours a day as a youngster.
“If I’d seen these pictures on the walls, I know it would’ve made me 10 times more empowered as a young woman and growing up through secondary school and growing into the professional footballer than I am today. I know it would’ve helped me and I wish I had had that sort of inspiration as a young girl.”
