The future of football
What’s next?
Last summer, the Lionesses won the Euros at Wembley, in front of a record crowd of 87,192. The rapid groundswell of support for women’s football that followed was palpable. But this sort of success doesn’t happen overnight and it’s not just the result of one skilled squad tearing up the pitch. With exclusive access, Felicia Pennant went behind the scenes with the current team, former players and industry experts to find out how we (finally) got here, and whether this year’s Women’s World Cup could be one for the history books
The crowd is truly buzzing when the Lionesses finally stride on to the training field. Acclimatising quickly to the chilly morning sunshine, the Uefa Women’s Euro 2022 champions and 2023 Arnold Clark Cup winners switch from being positively giddy at being reunited, to fiercely competitive as they run through their drills. Alex Greenwood, Jess Carter, Lauren Hemp and the other outfield players thwack balls across the perfectly manicured grass and smash in goals, while Mary Earps and the other goalkeepers practise their reflexes between inflatable posts. Ponytails swing furiously and the rallying shouts escalate under the watchful eye of head coach Sarina Wiegman.
It’s surreal watching the trophy-winning Lionesses train live at St George’s Park – the home of English football – and I get goosebumps revelling in the history I know I’m witnessing. But all this recent success and progress isn’t a coincidence. If Wiegman hadn’t insisted that the Lionesses use the same facilities as their male contemporaries, or the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) – the men’s Premier League equivalent – hadn’t gone fully professional at the beginning of the 2018-19 season, would this talented team have gone on the same incredible 30-game unbeaten run and secured the Lionesses’ first major trophy? When Chloe Kelly scored in the 110th minute at Wembley and whipped off her jersey in ecstasy last summer, girls and women of all ages roared back just like I did, inspired by the players’ do or die resilience and the satisfying, validating culmination of decades of hard work. Winning the World Cup is the next step.
This year feels like a tipping point for women in football. Two days after the training session, the Lionesses returned to Wembley to take on Copa América Femenina winners Brazil, in the first ever Finalissima – which they dramatically won on penalties after two epic saves from Earps, in front of 83,132 fans. Beyond this round of internationals, and the conclusion of the WSL’s most gripping title race yet between Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, lies the road to the Fifa Women’s World Cup. With matches taking place across Australia
