Words and Images By Megan Monk
The recent Women’s Euros 2022 was held in England having a massive impact of the women’s game. Breaking records for attendce in a women’s professisonal game with 87,192 people spectators for the Euro’s final. Watching host England beat eight time champions Germany, 2 – 1 and lift their third European trophy.
We spoke to some of the key sport people within Women’s Football in South Wales. We spoke to Sixteen year old Kate Wood, who is a Cardiff City Ladies defender who made her first team derby lat year in the FA Cup against Downend Flyers.
Q: How did the recent euros or past women tournaments influence you?
Kate:Watching the high standard of football being played and shown on tv has definitely made me want to improve more as a player, big tournaments like the euros being shown on tv has also given access to me and many other players of role models in the football world.
Q: What changes would you like to see in the women’s game?
Kate: For women to be viewed equal to men and that we are just as good as them, and have the similar opportunities and investment that the men’s teams have.
Q: Do you think the recent coverage of the women’s euros will influence a lot of change to women’s football?
Kate: Yes definitely, I think it has clearly made people a lot more interested in the women’s game, lots more people now turn up to watch international matches and has also inspired a lot of younger kids to get involved
in football.
Iain Darbyshire is manager of Cardiff City Women who play in the Welsh Adran Premier. Last season, Darbyshire led Cardiff City Women to win the FAW Cup against rivals Cardiff Met, 2 – 0. After losing the Adran Trophy Cup to them the weekend before, 1-0.
Q: What changes would you like to see in the women’s game?
Iain: I would like to see more investment across the leagues, to support the growth of the Women & Girls across all clubs.
Q: Do you think the recent coverage of the women’s euros will influence a lot of change to women’s football?
Iain: Yes, the interest has already gone through the roof! There are a lot of young boys & girls who are coming to watch our matches, and the CCFC fanbase are really promoting and championing our players!
Q: Since the recent Euros have you seen an improvement in funding?
Iain: The Adran Leagues provides good financial support for our team, however, to be more successful I believe a lot more funding is required to continue to develop.
Emily Richards is a volunteer at the Dragon Training Centre, Cardiff, where they train young girls interested in football. Emily also plays for Cardiff City Ladiesbut is currently sitting out the 2022/23 season with a knee injury
Q: Do you think there is a significant difference in the way women work their way into football compared to men’s academy?
Emily: I think nowadays there’s more opportunities for young girls to play football at grassroots at higher levels such as academies. It’s a growing game and it’s good to see many young players coming through and performing well.
Q: What changes would you like to see in the women’s game?
Emily: I would love to see more funding and more coverage of the women’s game. It’s increasingly becoming more popular but I would love to see women’s football grow even further to one day be on par with the men’s football.
Q: Do you think the recent coverage of the women’s euros will influence a lot of change to women’s football?
Emily: I definitely think that it has got more females involved in the game and it has got everybody talking about women’s football and in particular how well England did in the competition.
We also spoke to Charlotte Carpenter, who became the first welsh women referee in January 2015. During this year Carpenter refereed multiple tournaments abroad and was the Four Official during a game in the Euro’s 2017 qualifier.
Q: How far do you think women referee’s have come since you became the first Welsh female referee then?
There is now a clear pathway for female officials in Wales to reach FIFA. A lot of milestones have been reached, such as all female officiated domestic, cup and international fixtures. There are now a team of officials who represent Wales in competitions all over the world. Wales representation at the highest level on the world stage is now through a female official who has recently officiated in the final stages at European Championship and u20 World Cup this summer. However, there is still lack of representation of female officials in the female game in Wales, which is something the FAW have targeted to improve.
Q: What changes would you like to see in the women’s game?
Charlotte: I would like there to be more education, exposure and guidance provided to people who would like to remain involved in the game or become a part of it outside of playing. Everyone is aware of the drop out in female sport after a certain age, but I believe more could be done to retain people in the sport and help it grow in other ways. I also would like to see a change in the relationship between clubs, players and officials. I think the female game is rapidly growing and we have a unique opportunity to bridge the gap, and shape the environment that football is played in.
Cardiff City Ladies Goalkeeper and Welsh International, Laura O’Sullivain. Laura upheld her goal saving clean sheet against Bosnia in 2022 to take Wales to the World Cup Play Offs, where they went on to face Switzerland and were defeated with a 2 – 1 loss.
Q: Do you think the recent coverage of the women’s euros will influence a lot of change to women’s football?
Laura: I think this will have a huge impact, well it already has, the vision of woman’s football is a lot different now the number of fans have grown, the interest in playing and investment in the game has increased. I would like to see it continue to grow and hope more investment in the game in countries where it isn’t so popular compared to the men’s.
Q: How has women’s football changed since you first started? In terms of performance levels, money invested into the game and fan base?
Laura: From a my view playing at international level it’s changed so much the standards are so much higher and there is more expectation on performance levels and winning. The money in the game has increased which has helped on facilities, equipment, more staff which all contributes to a higher performance environment. Putting this altogether brings in fan engagement with the use of marketing and social media content.
Former Welsh International Michele Adams MBE (below) was awarded her MBE in 2017, for her service in girl’s and women’s football in Wales. She is one the three women to approach the Football Associations Of Wales to start a Women’s Welsh International team.
Q: Since the recent Euro’s have you seen an improvement in funding?
Michele: No, not really, funding is still hard to get! Money hasn’t trickled down to us in terms of hard cash. Also it’s more difficult for us as our own Governing Body do not help us in any capacity because we play in the English system.
Q: What changes would you like to see in the women’s game?
Michele: Funding is obviously always a problem, but I would like to see more women in important positions in the game provided they are capable and not just there as a ‘token woman’!
Q: Do you think the recent coverage of the women’s euros will influence a lot of change in womens football?
Michele: I would like to think the Euros will make a difference. But in Wales we are nowhere near ready to accommodate the number of girls wanting to play. We have massive problems, for example, grounds where girls and women feel safe to play at a reasonable cost, and not feeling second best to the men’s and
boys needs.
Categories: Feature