"According to Fifa's 2023 Member Association survey report, the number of women and girls playing organised football has grown by 24% since 2019, to more than 16.6 million, with 3.9 million registered female players. Fifa's Women's Football Strategy 2024-27 aims to achieve 60 million registered players by next year."
"There is a generation of women, however, who have missed out. I'm not talking about the 50-year ban on women playing on FA-affiliated pitches between 1921 and 1971, but on the back of that gaping injustice there were girls who grew up in the 70s, 80s and 90s who loved the game, but had little to no opportunity to play."
"The Crawley Old Girls was founded by Carol Bates in 2015 to offer a club for women from 25 to 80 years old. Bates is from the generation of women football missed. In the same spirit, Jo Treharne founded the Canterbury Old Bags for women who have come to play the beautiful game a little later in life."
Women's football has experienced significant growth, with 16.6 million women and girls now playing organized football globally, representing a 24% increase since 2019. FIFA's Women's Football Strategy 2024-27 aims to reach 60 million registered players. However, generations of women who grew up in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s missed opportunities to play competitively due to historical restrictions and limited access. In response, clubs like Crawley Old Girls and Canterbury Old Bags have emerged to provide football opportunities for women who came to the sport later in life. The recent success of the Lionesses has inspired younger generations to pursue women's football, creating a stark contrast with the experiences of older cohorts who lacked such visibility and opportunity.
#womens-football-growth #historical-gender-inequality-in-sports #late-life-sports-participation #fifa-development-strategy #generational-opportunity-gap
Read at www.theguardian.com
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