Stonewall, The FA and Womens football

It's a good time to talk about this, because next year could be a very different story and to be honest it would undo all of the work gone into making women's football credible. They've just proven how bankable they are and the level of public interest in women's football is higher than thought.

The result has been meaningful on many levels and it just wouldn't have the same impact as watching mixed sport. The public usually want to watch fair sport, whoever is taking part.

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11070651/The-Lionesses-glorious-bold-femininity-truly-iconic-writes-JULIE-BURCHILL.html

TheBiologyStupid · Today 21:57
FFS! The FA's "A Guide to Including Trans People in Football" linked to by the OP blatantly misrepresents the law, despite mentioning the Equality Act. No mention of the exemptions for fairness and safety in sport or for single-sex facilities for safety, privacy and dignity - instead it suggests (page 09) that discrimination could include "Refusing to let a trans woman play on the women's team" and "Refusing access to the toilets of the trans person's self-identified gender"

This shit needs de-Stonewalling urgently

Maybe someone maybe write to Woman’s Hour about it. (I just wrote about something else.)

The Equalities Minister must be busy campaigning. Does she have a deputy?

Minister for Sport Nigel Huddleston was refusing to take responsibility really in this March statement.

I do have to trust individual sports governing bodies in the UK and internationally to come up with what is right for them."
www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1121259/huddleston-transgender-pivotal-time

FFS! The FA's "A Guide to Including Trans People in Football" linked to by the OP blatantly misrepresents the law, despite mentioning the Equality Act. No mention of the exemptions for fairness and safety in sport or for single-sex facilities for safety, privacy and dignity - instead it suggests (page 09) that discrimination could include "Refusing to let a trans woman play on the women's team" and "Refusing access to the toilets of the trans person's self-identified gender".

This shit needs de-Stonewalling urgently.

Looks like the Mail are on it. Don't particularly like Dan Wootton's articles but this is very good. I like how he starts with clueless Starmer's views:

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-11069689/DAN-WOOTTON-telling-Lionesses-politicians-finally-admit-means-woman.html

Absolutely. But that's little consolation to female players that will be thrown under the bus in the UK. Total hypocrisy from the football authorities.

Agreed. Hopefully some enterprising journalists will start asking questions.

Yes it is, time to make a lot of noise.

Well now is the time the highlight the policy and get it overturned. Never be a better time. Following on from swimming, rugby union, rugby league and cycling. And having just won the Euros.

The Women have just won FA - that's fight they have WON without any men in the team, men are not required, if you destroy women's dreams and the inspiration that this team have brought to the fore then there is a special circle of hell awaiting you. LEAVE GIRLS AND WOMEN'S SPORT FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN ONLY, not men or boys who can't make the grade against their own sex.

So Congratulations FA. The way to get girls involved in football is the let men in. I hope this policy is published far and wide so you can rightly have all the praise delivered straight to you.

I was just wondering the other day how long it'll be till the men target the England women's team. They've been getting a lot of (deserved) attention, and it's got to be a low hanging fruit for some third-rate male footballers who quite fancy trying life in girl mode.

I am increasingly seeing males playing in the lower level women's leagues. They're usually easy to spot by being several inches taller than the women, so not I'm sure what criteria they're using to assess them on a case-by-case basis.

The FA trans inclusion guidance is a complete car crash for women's football. I believe India Willoughby had some input to it. It very much reads like something that was snuck in a few years ago before people really realised the implications. I think it will be reviewed in the near future off the back of the changes in rugby and swimming etc.

I play competitive women's football and I play mixed sex social football. I am very aware of the difference in physiques and how I adapt my playing to each sex. I'd far rather play open mixed sex where the men are aware of their advantages and moderate their playing, than women's football where a male thinks he is entitled to play at full pelt because he is a woman.

Homosexuality is technically punishable by death under Sharia law in Qatar, but yes work with the FA to get some rainbow laces on the pitch, that'll show em.

That's a shame. And it is exactly what Stonewall wants - girls and women out of sports They are the Taliban of the west .
But there is hope yet - Rugby authorities have just banned biological
men from playing on or against the women,:s teams. After watching the Lionesses battle to the final of the European Cup, FIFA must surely follow.

Ramblingnamechanger · Today 10:40
Time for coverage on this ( and non inclusion of black players) on Woman’s Hour , where practically every day there have been discussions and (rightly) praise for the team.

Good idea. Will you write and ask by any chance?

respectmysex · Today 13:52
@ScrollingLeaves "As well as access, I was wondering about the written FAcpolicies regarding race in girls and women’s football, as it seemed from the girls talking on Channel 4 that the whole culture is difficult and off-putting for them.

I believe the FA have a very clear cut anti racism policy at every level of the game for players and supporters. It includes a protocol for players to walk off the pitch if experiencing racist abuse. As a family we have used the policy for fans reporting racism on a match day and it was dealt with very quickly and professionally

That’s good to hear. I wonder what factors are holding black girls back, apart from the training grounds being in accessible?

In fairness to the FA, it's probably an unintended consequence of moving the focus of talent development outside inner cities because in the past, black or mixed race footballers were well represented in the women's game. There has been a tail-off.

Is there an overlap with the MN-originated public spaces and girls item?

makespaceforgirls.co.uk/

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4181054-Teenage-girls-and-public-space-facilities-an-update

Time for coverage on this ( and non inclusion of black players) on Woman’s Hour , where practically every day there have been discussions and (rightly) praise for the team.

Out of interest, do you know if they have as much written in their policies about racial rights and inclusivity?

The black young women I saw on Channel 4 seemed to suggest there is something very difficult and unsupportive about the set up for them to the extent that they just back out. There must be a huge pool of talent among black girls that isn’t getting a chance to shine.

Especially jarring when you look at the French team and the number of black women players on their team.

123Callie · Today 00:38
The reason the team is all white is do with the centres of excellence that young players attended being difficult to reach from inner city areas. Classic inclusion fail for a body that bores on and on about inclusion but does nothing meaningful whatsoever.

That will need to change if they want the best.

As well as access, I was wondering about the written FAcpolicies regarding race in girls and women’s football, as it seemed from the girls talking on Channel 4 that the whole culture is difficult and off-putting for them.

respectmysex · Today 07:37
@ScrollingLeaves Yes you are right. The policy to include Trans adults 19 years or older is case by case. Not open to scrutiny.

My concern is that right now the conversation is all for grassroots football and getting girls in to football, but The FA have gone with self ID and inclusion of trans identifying males in the girls game. No questions asked. The massive safeguarding risk this also represents when applied to Trans coaches beggars belief

Thank you for clarifying this, Respect.
I agree, it is appalling.

Out of interest, do you know if they have as much written in their policies about racial rights and inclusivity?

The black young women I saw on Channel 4 seemed to suggest there is something very difficult and unsupportive about the set up for them to the extent that they just back out. There must be a huge pool of talent among black girls that isn’t getting a chance to shine.

The latter isn't even 'bad practice', it's not practiced at all, it would seem. The feelings of girls and women are irrelevant.