This week’s competition reveals how far the women’s game has come – and hopefully how far it can go
When the Lionesses run out on to the Old Trafford pitch to play against Austria on Wednesday, thus opening the delayed 2021 Euros, they will be well on their way to capping a breakthrough year for women’s football in England. An unprecedented 450,000 tickets have been bought so far across the 25 days of the competition; the final sold out in an hour, putting it on course to break attendance records at any Euros, male or female. The tournament is already Europe’s biggest-ever women’s sporting event.
This change has been bubbling through for a while. There had already been a decade of improvements in girls’ and women’s football when the Football Association published its 2017 Gameplan for Growth. The specific targets – to double participation and attendance at matches – were not only met but exceeded within three years; the goal of consistent success on the world stage was met when the Lionesses reached the semi-finals in both the 2017 Euros and the 2019 World Cup. In 2019 Barclays began sponsoring the Women’s Super League, investing £15m; it has since committed another £30m. Last year the BBC and Sky Sports announced investment of £24m over three years. Since then there has been a fourfold increase in viewing figures. Alex Scott, a former England and Arsenal women’s player, is a familiar face on both broadcasters, offering insightful opinions on the men’s and women’s games.
