Womens Football - What's the point?

The first point is, that thousands of girls & women enjoy playing football week in and week out. From grassroots to professional. Does there need to be another point?

Being a father to a footballing daughter, & subsequently one of Anthonys daughters playing football too, its quite up there on our agenda. When your daughter plays, you tend to notice the womens game just that little bit more.

One thing that we do not do, is compare it to mens football. That would be wrong on so many levels. From the funding, the support base etc, the mens game is so much more advanced, but that doesn't mean that there is not space for the womens game.

My daughter has played the beautiful game for 6 years, so I have invested my time and support to my daughter, which then led me on a path of watching womens football. Whether that be Tier 5 at Mansfield Town, Tier 3 at Nottingham Forest, or England Lionesses, I have been to plenty of games throughout those years. 

I still ultimately prefer the mens game by a long shot, as I have grown up with it, but I have to give credit to the girls & womens game. It's a different pace, a different supporter base, but it's still football. I think this is where we get mixed up. Its football. It doesn't matter who plays it and where, it's still the game. 

Nottingham Forest Women was one of the last matches I went to at the City ground. Maybe a thousand fans watching the game, with all credit to Nottingham Forest, for branding the game exactly as the mens. It creates an all round one club feeling, from playing at the City Ground, to Mull of Kintyre playing. Its the same process, so all credit to Nottingham Forest on this.

Flip to a Lionesses game at Wembley, and it's predominantly a full house. The haters will say that they give away tickets, which they do, but lets say its a full house and everyone spends at least a tenner. Decent earner. 

And of course, all surrounding businesses will benefit too.

Flip all the way back from those heady heights of Wembley, to a freezing cold Sunday morning, & 30 girls turn up ready to play the game.

What's the point? The point being that they love the game as much as the boys. That's why. Competing, developing, learning and staying fit. Its a fairly decent point.

My role in all this, is that I am now an assistant coach in the Girls game, & I have seen the positive impact football has, so why not help out? 

Womens football certainly has a place, has plenty of players, plenty of supporters, & its worth giving a nod to any woman or girl who plays the game, with the same passion and desire as the men & boys.

Its the beautiful game after all.

And if your daughter wants to play, then let her play. Its her game too.