Unfortunately a lot of these problems aren't with football associations themselves but with the public taking a very selective portion of football seriously. Sadly, nobody cares about women's...
Unfortunately a lot of these problems aren't with football associations themselves but with the public taking a very selective portion of football seriously. Sadly, nobody cares about women's football, or even anything other than the main men's European Championships and the World Cup.
I'm from England. Last year our women's football squad made it to the Euro final against Germany. My local pub decided to show the Scottish Premier League game (Celtic vs Aberdeen) being broadcasted instead because nobody (even the bar ladies who had some control over what to show) took women's football seriously. Went to a different pub entirely to watch the Lionesses win their first major title in a long time. I think there were definitely some people who took notice because the pub had people flocking in from other places that refused to show the game.
A minority of pubs cheered for the Lionesses, but many of them don't consider the Women's Euro a legitimate victory and still think our last footballing accomplishment was winning the World Cup back in 1966.
About two weeks ago, England won the under-21 Euro final against Spain where we actually won based on the outcome of a penalty (a first in English footballing history.) That got even less fanfare. Nobody put 'It's Coming Home' on the jukebox or really cheered for it.
I think Norway has worse problems when it comes to getting the sport recognised on an egalitarian level. The only reason Norway is even on the map for me personally in terms of football is because Erling Haaland has been an absolute monster when playing for Manchester City. One player is the sole reason I even have a nation on the map as distantly possible world contenders.
Things are even worse for America (the US is one of the strongest women's football sides, yet are a nation that only take American Football, Basketball and Baseball seriously.) Nobody takes 'soccer' seriously in the States. I mean Lionel Messi was recently signed by Inter Miami and nobody had a clue who he was.
When the greater public doesn't care about your accomplishments because of discriminatory gender attitudes or because society has pushed a completely different national sport upon the populace, you are not going to command higher pay.
Imo it's only a problem to people who think equality of outcome should be enforced. You can't force people to want to watch something, and there's nothing stopping them from watching it. It's ok...
Imo it's only a problem to people who think equality of outcome should be enforced.
You can't force people to want to watch something, and there's nothing stopping them from watching it.
It's ok for some things to be less popular than others.
It's worthwhile looking at successes in women's sports viewership. Women's tennis and volleyball are popular - in fact, women's volleyball is more popular than men's volleyball, and beside...
It's worthwhile looking at successes in women's sports viewership. Women's tennis and volleyball are popular - in fact, women's volleyball is more popular than men's volleyball, and beside physical appearances, one reason is that men's volleyball is incredibly boring as a game due to lack of long ralley's in men's volleyball.
Women's ball games can be popular, but the governing bodies and players should be amenable to changes in the game. WNBA has really suffered from insisting on not changing the height of the goals, leading to a slower game with few dunks and few sharpshooters. A ball game's excitement is not directly correlative with physical feats.
Now, things like track are more difficult. In many cases, the viewership is from the physical spectacle of being the "best in the world" or "best in X region". I'm not really sure there's a way to bridge the gap like there is in ball games. I think here, attendance and interest from women is the only thing you can do.
I try to watch the NWSL and the USWNT, but until recently like a third of their games were streaming on Twitch and then there were two other services to find them on. Even now it's a mix of...
I try to watch the NWSL and the USWNT, but until recently like a third of their games were streaming on Twitch and then there were two other services to find them on. Even now it's a mix of Paramount+ and CBS Sports.
The only time I can regularly find women's soccer in the same place is during the World Cup and the Olympics. (And I think it's this year or next that the Men's World Cup and Women's World Cup are finally separate rights purchases if I followed)
I love the NWSL. I tried to buy a USWNT jersey but got a "sold out so sorry" email (and finding them in my size is annoying).
We're out there and we want to watch. No one is making that easy though.
You bring up an interesting point that I hadn’t considered. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is why some of the people in my social circle don’t make as much commentary about these games as well....
You bring up an interesting point that I hadn’t considered. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is why some of the people in my social circle don’t make as much commentary about these games as well.
Watching the latest NHL or MLB game is much more accessible and readily available to watch. This makes it easier to engage in commentary in real-time on a social media feed, for example. A game you have to hunt for to even watch, potentially after the fact, is not going to fit that format.
There's lots that can be said and studied regarding gender equality in sports. Women who play sports face an uphill battle in many ways and deserve support. One quick look at attendance statistics...
There's lots that can be said and studied regarding gender equality in sports. Women who play sports face an uphill battle in many ways and deserve support.
One quick look at attendance statistics shows that perhaps the women standing on the field need more of them in the stands.
Avid vs. Casual fans of sports (in the U.S.) is a difference of 2% for men.
Unfortunately a lot of these problems aren't with football associations themselves but with the public taking a very selective portion of football seriously. Sadly, nobody cares about women's football, or even anything other than the main men's European Championships and the World Cup.
I'm from England. Last year our women's football squad made it to the Euro final against Germany. My local pub decided to show the Scottish Premier League game (Celtic vs Aberdeen) being broadcasted instead because nobody (even the bar ladies who had some control over what to show) took women's football seriously. Went to a different pub entirely to watch the Lionesses win their first major title in a long time. I think there were definitely some people who took notice because the pub had people flocking in from other places that refused to show the game.
A minority of pubs cheered for the Lionesses, but many of them don't consider the Women's Euro a legitimate victory and still think our last footballing accomplishment was winning the World Cup back in 1966.
About two weeks ago, England won the under-21 Euro final against Spain where we actually won based on the outcome of a penalty (a first in English footballing history.) That got even less fanfare. Nobody put 'It's Coming Home' on the jukebox or really cheered for it.
I think Norway has worse problems when it comes to getting the sport recognised on an egalitarian level. The only reason Norway is even on the map for me personally in terms of football is because Erling Haaland has been an absolute monster when playing for Manchester City. One player is the sole reason I even have a nation on the map as distantly possible world contenders.
Things are even worse for America (the US is one of the strongest women's football sides, yet are a nation that only take American Football, Basketball and Baseball seriously.) Nobody takes 'soccer' seriously in the States. I mean Lionel Messi was recently signed by Inter Miami and nobody had a clue who he was.
When the greater public doesn't care about your accomplishments because of discriminatory gender attitudes or because society has pushed a completely different national sport upon the populace, you are not going to command higher pay.
Imo it's only a problem to people who think equality of outcome should be enforced.
You can't force people to want to watch something, and there's nothing stopping them from watching it.
It's ok for some things to be less popular than others.
It's worthwhile looking at successes in women's sports viewership. Women's tennis and volleyball are popular - in fact, women's volleyball is more popular than men's volleyball, and beside physical appearances, one reason is that men's volleyball is incredibly boring as a game due to lack of long ralley's in men's volleyball.
Women's ball games can be popular, but the governing bodies and players should be amenable to changes in the game. WNBA has really suffered from insisting on not changing the height of the goals, leading to a slower game with few dunks and few sharpshooters. A ball game's excitement is not directly correlative with physical feats.
Now, things like track are more difficult. In many cases, the viewership is from the physical spectacle of being the "best in the world" or "best in X region". I'm not really sure there's a way to bridge the gap like there is in ball games. I think here, attendance and interest from women is the only thing you can do.
I try to watch the NWSL and the USWNT, but until recently like a third of their games were streaming on Twitch and then there were two other services to find them on. Even now it's a mix of Paramount+ and CBS Sports.
The only time I can regularly find women's soccer in the same place is during the World Cup and the Olympics. (And I think it's this year or next that the Men's World Cup and Women's World Cup are finally separate rights purchases if I followed)
I love the NWSL. I tried to buy a USWNT jersey but got a "sold out so sorry" email (and finding them in my size is annoying).
We're out there and we want to watch. No one is making that easy though.
You bring up an interesting point that I hadn’t considered. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is why some of the people in my social circle don’t make as much commentary about these games as well.
Watching the latest NHL or MLB game is much more accessible and readily available to watch. This makes it easier to engage in commentary in real-time on a social media feed, for example. A game you have to hunt for to even watch, potentially after the fact, is not going to fit that format.
There's lots that can be said and studied regarding gender equality in sports. Women who play sports face an uphill battle in many ways and deserve support.
One quick look at attendance statistics shows that perhaps the women standing on the field need more of them in the stands.
Avid vs. Casual fans of sports (in the U.S.) is a difference of 2% for men.
For women, 35%
Source:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1018814/sports-fans-usa-gender/