Fab article by Julie Burchill re Lionesses, women's footballing history & misogyny

It's a great article and I love the righteous anger. She puts her finger on a lot of important points.
Only criticism is that she hasn't really understood Eilidh Barbour's call for more diversity echoed by many in the game. It's not a plea for special accommodation or for lower entry requirements as she seems to imply - it's a call to rectify the relatively recent drop-off in recruitment of inner city kids caused partly by the location of talent hubs in suburban areas. Lots of black, brown and mixed race girls play football, but a lower proportion of them come from middle class families living in those suburbs. We are losing out on a pool of talent that already exists. Nobody thinks the FA or the clubs are being racist - and they don't seem to be taking it that way, either. It's an unintended consequence of the drive for more structured recruitment.

Brilliant article.
Not so long ago (well into the 90s) I heard male commentator saying "football's not a game for girls".
Well, let's hope that now, "kicking like a girl" is turned into a positive expression!

A great article, but a shame that she didn't mention the FA's woeful attitude towards defending women's football. Now, with the Lionesses ' victory in the news, is the time for the FA to make up for past injustices to women. www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4599197-stonewall-the-fa-and-womens-football

I'm not particularly a sports watcher but I've had a weird lump in my throat since the football final the other night. Like a sense that SOMETHING is happening.

I got almost tearful listening to Alex Scott talking about pleading with big football grounds to hold matches back in 2018 and being ignored.

I can't quite put my finger on what I'm feeling but I suppose it's a bit a long the lines of 'stop fucking ignoring us and dismissing us and telling us we are lesser and don't deserve stuff just because we are women'.

Women have a lot of reasons to be angry right now and I think women are collectively starting to feel that. It feels like we are on the cusp of changing things like the suffragettes did over 100 years ago.

That was a really enjoyable read!

That might just be the best article Julie Burchill has written.

I tell you what is misogynistic, the Daily Mail printing that picture of Chloe Kelly with her top off five times in the last two days.