You know it’s a good day when Alessia Russo makes the headlines. Who can forget her iconic backheel goal against Sweden in the Euros last summer? As a Swede, I certainly can’t. Today, she’s trending as she was offered a record-breaking transfer offer from Arsenal. The previous highest transfer for a female player was Barcelona paying £400,000 for England midfielder Keira Walsh in September. Russo’s offer is understood to be even higher than this, and while it’s nowhere near what clubs offer male players (Jack Grealish held the British record with his £100 million move from Aston Villa to Manchester City – but then, what wouldn’t you pay for those calves?), it’s a start.
Being a woman in football is an uphill climb – there’s no doubt about that. Let’s not forget that the FA banned women from playing for 50 years, so no wonder we have a bit to catch up on. However, we’re in a place now where the interest in women’s football is picking up in popularity – and doing so rapidly. It’s only within the last few years that transfer fees have reached the £100,000+ mark, and it doesn’t look like the numbers are going to drop. And while most of us are celebrating this progress, there will always be men who see this as a threat, which may be why they think they’re within their rights to spew out as much hate and sexist comments as they want online. Last summer’s ‘Not her problem’ campaign was an important initiative to highlight the blatant and unprovoked hate female players receive, but it also saddens me that it was needed in the first place.
