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Original poster

Boys being pushed into girls’ football league

105 replies

PriOn1 · 03/03/2024 09:56

I found this article on Twitter and find it rather odd. It’s about a boy who wants to play in a girls’ football league. It doesn’t say that the boy “identifies as a girl” or anything similar. From the way it reads, he’s a boy who wants to play in the girls’ league because it’s easier.

What I don’t understand is the reaction of the Football Association, who seem to be insisting he must be allowed to play.

So I found myself wondering whether they missed out the fact that he claims to be a girl, or whether it might be more nuanced. For example, if there are already boys in the girl’s league who do claim to be female, does it then become discriminatory to exclude other boys?

Any thoughts or enlightenment? I shall now go off to search for other sources of information…

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13149771/west-riding-girls-football-league-boy-footbal-association.html#comments

Top girls' league faces being shut down by Football Association

The Mail on Sunday can reveal that a row has broken out between the FA and officials running a female league in Yorkshire after parents complained their son had not been allowed to join.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13149771/west-riding-girls-football-league-boy-footbal-association.html#comments

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Rightsraptor · 03/03/2024 10:13

It's incredible but probably shouldn't be, given the long misogynistic history of football.

The DM article says nothing about the boy pretending to be a girl, he just seems to be bad at football and knows it'll be easier if he plays with and against girls. It'll make him look better, of course it will.

His parents requested that he join the girls. That's two adults plus a child and the existing arrangement will be turned upside down to accommodate them and to the great disadvantage of girls.

But who cares about girls? They're only there to flatter male egos

Original poster
PriOn1 · 03/03/2024 10:08

Thanks @NecessaryScene

So basically, someone saw a need and set up a girls’ league, but it was never officially ratified. And now some selfish boy’s parents are fucking it up.

OP posts:
Boiledbeetle · 03/03/2024 10:07

At the end of October last year the boy's parents asked the West Riding Girls League if their son could join due to him not wanting to play with other boys, and also because of his ability level.

How about those parents actually do their job and tell their little darling just because he wants something doesnt mean he bloody gets it.

Original poster
PriOn1 · 03/03/2024 10:04

I’ve found one more article here, but it doesn’t clear up what’s going on here.

It does seem to me though, that all the current controversy is encouraging difficult parents to push for things they wouldn’t have asked for before, or who would have been immediately shut down if they did.

And of course, it’s girls who are potentially losing out, yet again.

https://bnnbreaking.com/sports/fa-threatens-sanctions-on-west-riding-girls-football-league-for-excluding-boy-player

FA Threatens Sanctions on West Riding Girls Football League for Excluding Boy Player

The FA issues a warning to the West Riding Girls Football League for not allowing a boy to participate, sparking a debate on gender inclusivity.

https://bnnbreaking.com/sports/fa-threatens-sanctions-on-west-riding-girls-football-league-for-excluding-boy-player

OP posts:
NecessaryScene · 03/03/2024 10:03

As far as I can see, the FA's official position is that all under-16 competitions are mixed.

At U17 and U18, I think you can have female-only and mixed competitions. And then no mixed above that.

I spent a while digging through the FA site, and information about girls' football is basically missing in action, because there is no specific provision. Where it is present, it seems to be presented as a sort of vague generic "diversity and inclusion" measure, rather than recognising any fundamental differences.

One example of that:

https://www.thefabrochure.com/developing-female-football/

A kind of conflicted document - wanting female "inclusion", but it having to be mixed-sex. But you can have female-only events "for fun".

Boys being pushed into girls’ football league