Sky Sports have recently signed a five-year deal with the Women’s Super League, 90 per cent of schools now offer equal access to the sport for women and girls, and matches are reaching record crowds: women’s football is booming.
On the local front, the story is different, with community teams reporting that they face an ongoing battle for pitch space, which is often earmarked for men’s teams.
A recent incident at Camden Road FC encapsulates the issue: according to a spokesperson for Camden Road WFC, the team had a match scheduled against Peckham Town last month. When they arrived, their allocated pitch was unplayable and waterlogged, and their fixture was cancelled to make space for the men’s side.
Kirsty Graham, Club Co-Lead at CRFC, said: “It’s very unsurprising that men’s teams get favoured automatically, and it’s certainly not the first time our club has had to deal with sexism.”
This is not an isolated incident. Jazmyn Tyne, captain of Hackney-based Sonder FC, said: “Our biggest obstacle is being able to secure training pitches in London consistently. They’re often booked out or used for men’s leagues in block bookings, and particularly in the winter, there aren’t many options for us to play or train.”
The Lionesses’ surge in popularity and success is something to celebrate, but it does not stop a local women’s match being bumped for a men’s fixture in East London; it does not guarantee a pitch in Hackney.
“It’s so important to carve out community spaces for women’s football, rather than just treating the women’s sport as an add-on extra that ticks a box in a male-dominated environment.”
Sonder FC and Camden Road WFC are part of The Goalposts League, made up of teams for women, transgender, and non-binary people.
The League, which has partnerships with Jameson Whiskey and Adidas, has created a community that highlights the role football can play in our social fabric, and they have dedicated, uncontested pitch space for their teams.
Ms Tyne said: “Having a space to play football locally is so important to us as it holds space for women, non-binary, and trans players to play and not have to bargain for pitches.”
Gabriella Thijs, who plays for Sonder FC, said: “Before every match, we go in a circle, and we say our names and pronouns. So, it has a really strong sense of diversity, and there’s no discrimination … I think it has become a home for people to just have fun.”
Ms Graham said: “The biggest thing that stood out to us compared to other leagues we’d played in was the community feel.”
The Goalposts League holds wellbeing workshops and social events and is open to players of all ages and abilities. It highlights what local, grassroots football should be.
Ms Tyne said: “We all have very different and varied jobs, but when we get on the pitch, having fun and being a team is first and foremost, and for some people, this is their best and favourite outlet each week.
“We are in partnership with a local brand called ‘Ar Tye’, a design-led football brand redefining what it means to feel supported on the pitch. We haven’t outsourced a big company to make our kits and that’s what makes us feel even more like a community supporting community.”
Rather than fighting for pitch space and battling sexist attitudes, The Goalposts League has provided a much-needed safe space for its teams.
As Ms Graham put it: “It’s so important to carve out community spaces for women’s football, rather than just treating the women’s sport as an add-on extra that ticks a box in a male-dominated environment.”
Edie Holt is an MA Newspaper Journalism student at City St George's. She has previously written for The Daily Mail, The New World, and The Student (University of Edinburgh) on Culture, Sport, News, and Opinion.