When England played Sweden in the first ever women’s Euros final in 1984, fewer than 1,000 spectators were present at Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road ground and the event was more or less ignored by the British media. Banned by the Football Association until 1970, women’s football occupied a dismal, neglected space at the very margins of the nation’s sporting existence.
Has any other sport come so far so quickly? On Sunday, 90,000 supporters will pack Wembley to watch the Lionesses play Germany. As with all the preceding games, the Euro 2022 final will be shown live on the BBC and the contest will be viewed around the world. Judging by the 9.3 million who tuned in to England’s semi-final against Sweden, it may well be the most-watched TV broadcast of the year.
