Publisher | The unstoppable growth of women’s football

This Sunday, women’s football in Spain took another step forward in its already unstoppable growth with the second UEFA Champions League won by FC Barcelona in Eindhoven.

Scenes of celebration in the Plaza de Sant Jaume, after Roa is equal between the champions of the women’s and men’s leagues A few days ago, there were other milestones (after some of them were as important as the attendance record at the Camp Nou on March 30, 2022, with 91,553 spectators) in a success story that is not limited even to the State of Exceptional Grace team and is not limited only to La Liga.

in the UK ultimate The FA Cup between Manchester United and Chelsea filled Wembley. In Germany we find back-to-back Champions League finals for Wolfsburg, in France with the strength of Paris Saint-Germain or in the United States with the victories of their team and the social phenomenon of school football.

Betting on Barcelona’s recent guidance to its women’s team has made it jump in quality, fame and influence. It was also a catalyst for other clubs in La Liga to reconsider the little interest they had shown up until then. It is a success for the club, for the department’s sporting directors and for the players themselves. And for the social block that has been identified in this phenomenon.

From the girls who wear their team’s jersey, who already ask for autographs from the players they have as a model and ask that they also have sticker albums. Above all, we see what is won as an equal match when girls fill out their school teams or neighborhood clubs. When they claim the ball in the school grounds is meant for them too.

Women’s football is already close to some sports (eg tennis or athletics) in which athletes have years of advantage in conquering a leadership role. He attracted sponsors and achieved a level of media exposure encouraged by (but not all) the media, which recognized the importance of the phenomenon). Derogatory comments about how competitive or misogynistic comments in the face of any wardrobe inconsistency keep popping up, though thankfully they’re starting to become more and more peripheral.

However, it is still a long way from being able to look at men’s football head-on in terms of television audiences or turnover. An example of this is the little interest shown by television operators in the rights to the upcoming World Cup. Or the lack of professional conditions for players. But in other respects, women’s soccer can teach lessons.

With regard to the behavior of the players, the sporting atmosphere observed on the field and in the stands, the commitment of the athletes to various causes or the ability to attract new young fans.

But every leap forward requires a gamble that sometimes has no immediate payoff. Some of the leading clubs in women’s football didn’t really believe in it when they started making steps towards professionalism and disappeared from the first level. Barcelona, ​​in a difficult economic situation, cannot risk losing the train and considering it an expense that must be cut, or that it does not need new spaces for growth, which is A huge investment in the future.