Euros women's final

Who are you encouraging to spectate what? You didn't answer that question. Do you want more women and girls to spectate men's football, or to spectate women's football? If it is the former, I don't think anyone is doing such a thing, and if it is the latter, you are free to contact WSL clubs to discuss the issue with them.

And there we go again, you seem to be under the impression that the whole world needs to cater to your and your impressions of how things should be and when questioned you cry that you are being silenced, that you are being dismissed. You make strawmen (now it is that somehow I treat children at games as blasphemous, and btw you haven't answered any of my questions around the strawmen either). And you lie ("make up the majority of people but can't show support").

The adult in me knows there's truth to this. My righteous indignation internet ego is struggling! Thank you. I'll take the advice.

Yes you are right it does!

And it reflects the experiences of most of the women and girls we are encouraging to spectate in the sport! Not everyone wants to play but we do want to enjoy ourselves whilst we encourage our country to greatness!

So I'm going to carry on exposing how the game comes across to the likes of ignoramouses like me who commit the blasphemy of taking young children to enjoy the holy football they know nothing about but who make up the majority of people who enjoy the sport but can't show support. Yet.

Sure thing.

"not everyone just goes for the game alone?"

That just says everything about you and your knowledge of football.

@blister this person is not being constructive. Ignore. It’s not worth engaging.

What are you on about?

Your problem is I said stadiums need more thought? I never said anything about all stadiums ever... It annoys you that someone is proposing something that can make going out to matches more of a social event for young families because not everyone just goes for the game alone? What I propose is ludicrous because I'm an anonymous voice on the Internet? Ok! It is just the Internet after all!

And I did mean you hadn't taken children to the games to assess what the problems are with adult eyes but I think you knew that already...

that was mean to be an asterisk after stadiums to good luck, not to embolden it.

You've just proven my point.

You believe that all sporting stadiums throughout time have got it wrong, and they should be changed in the way you, a random person on the internet, thinks they should be to be more to your liking.

Where did I try to shut you up? After "but don't then generalise to women aren't supporting the game..." this is the second time you made a random, false accusation. Why?

"Actually done the legwork and compared what needs to change to make this easier for women and girls to turn up." But that is not what I replied to. I replied to a comment that was essentially "my experience sucked because it is to crowded and one can't take the kids to the toilet easily".

Oh wow, all caps, bold, underlined. I guess all the times I was taken don't count? Why?

Where do you want women and girls to turn up to? The already popular men's stadiums or women's games? Progress in the women's game? Go to the WSL clubs and tell them how they should build new stadiums. How you get from me, a random person on the internet, questioning you to "no wonder progress is slow" is quite hilarious. Good luck.

Point of clarification: The races are horse races not athletics.

@MrGHardy wait! what did I just read? 😂😂😂

Is this an example of when women speak, it is easier to shut them up than listen?

I've taken 2 families and assisted a third through a season of football matches.
Gone to multiple other sporting events with kids in tow (races, swimming, hockey and polo - and no, not just the kids championships) .

Actually done the legwork and compared what needs to change to make this easier for women and girls to turn up.

And you, who have NEVER taken children to a regular local match, sum it up as "Karen, wants special treatment " !

No wonder progress is slow 🙄

A lot of stadiums have VIP lounges and the like. Not sure how else to explain this. But yes, smaller stadiums are less likely to have them.

Because the more space you have between seats the less people you can fit into a certain area. Why do you think business class flights are more expensive than economy? Additionally, in a sports stadium, the more space there is between people, the less of an atmosphere you will have.

No, that part was simply to point out that some families seem to manage to go to stadiums without issues. I cannot say "I take my kids to football games" because I don't have any. My experience was as the child. Not as the parent. No history be known.

What others have you gone to? Because that was my other point. Most sports venues I have been to, are not family friendly, at least not in the sense that you describe. This isn't unique to football. In fact, ice hockey was even worse. And to a certain degree this should be obvious. You are there to enjoy the game. Not walk around constantly and not to enjoy vast amount of space.

I never once said "women don't support the game". Not sure where that is coming from.

Basically your post reads like something on r/FuckYouKaren (reddit sub where people make fun of real life examples of 'Karens') sounding like "football stadiums need to be rebuilt because I can't buy seats at the end of a row to easily get to the toilets or have my children sit still for 45 minutes and I feel like a sardine".

Not sure which parts you consider rude. Care to elaborate?

Somehow I get the impression that I had replied "Not everyone has the same wishes or needs as your family presumably did" to the other poster you would still have found a way to criticise my post. Quite ironic, I was exactly pointing out that yes, big sporting events and crowded places aren't exactly 'family friendly'.

Which vip room?

I've never been to a stadium which has said facility... to be fair I only regularly to my local one and it's on the small side...

I honestly have no idea what you are on about. Is there some reasoning or history behind the squashed seat nature of stadiums that I'm not privy to?

I wasn't taken to football as a kid. Is there some history which you expect people to know?

I and the family only just started going to sporting events outside the kids regular ones last year. Football is the only one we really struggle with as a family.

If it doesn't want to change because of "doncha know" which I honestly don't know then fine but don't then generalise to women aren't supporting the game...

@MrGHardy your response is unnecessarily rude. Not everyone has the same wishes or needs as your family presumably did.

Do they?

You could have paid for the VIP room with ample of space, easy toilet access and constant movement possible.

I wonder why stadiums are not built to allow frequent moving of spectators. It is a mystery.

Also a mystery how this is the same for other sports, heck even indoor ones like volleyball or ice hockey.

Also a mystery how my parents managed to take me and my brother to games as kids without your issues.

I went to the races over the weekend and a football match the week before.

If I'm taking the kids out or want to share some sport with friends, I'd chose the racing even if it's more expensive.

We were packed like sardines in the stadium. A little boy needed a wee, cue mayhem. Moving around is just too hard because stadiums were not built with frequent movement in mind. There's a family section in my local one but I never get a seat. Its always sold out. Its like a forgotten end of a row of benches as well.

I do think the stadiums themselves need more thought.

This seems positive:

www.theguardian.com/football/2022/aug/03/wsl-clubs-see-ticket-demand-surge-after-lionesses-euro-22-win

I hope it sticks

But it's the venues which need to change not the women...

If women don't get out and support women's teams then all this will fade away. Football as we've been celebrating is a commercial enterprise, not a charity.

That's fine, nobody had to watch or support women's football, but if we don't then we cannot complain when it doesn't get the same attention or backing as men's football.

I can't help thinking stadiums and the way they make profit just don't fit the lives of women. No matter how much I like a sport, I'm not going to watch it for kicks. There's always a secondary reason.

Creating a network of smaller stadiums/fields/sports centers would work much better for infrequent punters or make it a big thing like the races where you go to meet friends. But it's the venues which need to change not the women...

When a pipe is leaking, we fix the pipe, not the water. Can't remember where I read that.

Most stadiums are used only every other week. If the women can fill them the club will be happy to get the gate receipts for their games as well.
The problem is that so far attendances have not justified using the main stadium. When Brighton did it a year or so ago the ground was about 80% empty (and ticket prices were a lot lower). There’s no way a club is going to use a huge stadium if they cannot recoup costs.

I hope that some of the enthusiasm seen on this thread turns to action. If women start going to matches every week the clubs will soon have the games in the main stadium - they never turn down the chance of a profit. If the current excitement dies away and women’s game continue to get crowds of a couple of thousand at giveaway ticket prices then the games will stay in smaller, cheaper venues.

What exactly do you disagree with? Mentioning that specific clubs and other countries support women's football doesn't negate what I said. Especially Scandinavia, who have long been strong in women's football. Norway used to be right at the top, but now that other, bigger countries also invest in women's football, they are not at the very top anymore.

The rest, again, doesn't really negate what I said other than giving more credit to the clubs than the FA, which is debatable. Yes, clubs are pushing it, UK clubs have the most money from their investors, but you need the footballing association to push it at a high level, and at a national level. If they don't care, the players wouldn't get excited to play for their country.

The Guardian has a piece on "How women’s football can capitalise on England triumph – in six steps", although none of those steps includes getting the FA to properly protect the sport for women only. www.theguardian.com/football/2022/aug/02/how-womens-football-can-capitalise-on-england-triumph-euro-2022

@dudsville and @Waitwhat23
Ditto. I suddenly feel happy for no reason....and then I remember why.

@dudsville I know what you mean. I watched the press conference where you could hear the women singing 'it's coming home' before they got into the room, they came in singing and dancing and getting on top of the table and then danced out again, still singing. It was just pure unbridled fun and joy and was so lovely to see and keeps giving me a wee smile when I think about it.