European Women's Football Championship 2013: Could this be the moment women's football goes mainstream?

A new joint report, ?Kick Off Your Career?, which WSFF and the FA released today highlights the stories of 20 female football pioneers who have played the game and now work within football. They include journalist Jacqui Oatley, Tracey Crouch MP, England footballer Kelly Smith, and FA Coaches Hope Powell, Marieanne Spacey and Abbie Sadler. The message for girls is clear: ?It?s your game too, come and join the team.?

Women's football needs to clear big barriers

But we have to recognise that women?s football ? like much of women?s sport generally ? succeeds in spite of enormous barriers. When the Women?s Sport and Fitness Foundation studied the overall distribution of sports sponsorship money over 18 months to August 2011, women?s sport received a miserly 0.5 per cent of the total ? men raked in over 60 per cent, with the rest going to mixed activities.

Of course, we should celebrate this new focus by the BBC ? and I do, it is public service broadcasting at its best. But look at the broader coverage of football on both television and in newspapers. The back pages remain dominated by images of male footballers, and still many of England?s women footballers need to ?top up? their earnings by taking other jobs or coaching within their clubs.

Despite the success of British sportswomen in many sports at London 2012, still just one in five women are active enough to improve their health. At a time when levels of obesity are rising that is an uncomfortable statistic. WSFF?s research also shows that at school, girls? participation levels in sport equals boys until senior school, before going into a steep decline. A common perception among girls, and one that a Year 9 girl articulated to us is that ?participating in sport won?t get them anywhere? and is less valuable to their future. Over half of all boys and girls agreed that there are more opportunities for boys to succeed in sport than girls. This is both a sad statistic ? and a significant one. For, we are currently producing a generation of women who are missing out on all that sport has to offer.

For women?s health, fitness, for self-esteem ? for all sorts of reasons ? we need to see more women footballers, not fewer.

A fresh boost is needed

What women?s football needs is a fresh impetus to build on recent success. And some of that is already in place. The FA is taking women?s football very seriously as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations.

It has an exciting five year plan for the game with a heavy emphasis on elite development and commercial improvement, with participation and fanbase targets to go with more role models and more income.

What is desperately needed is an increase in media exposure because participation, coverage, and sponsorship are interdependent. Movement on all three has the potential to get something powerful happening.

Arguments for more coverage are often batted away with the old-school thinking that women?s football isn?t as ?good? as men?s. But the passion and excitement the women?s game can generate makes compelling viewing, both live and on TV ? we already know that. The BBC is leading the way, and with BT Sport signing up as ?broadcast partner? for the FA WSL , I have a feeling that it will pay off, because women?s football is a great product with some winning personalities.

If we need an example to prove that from another sport, look at tennis. The men?s and women?s games there are separate but equal. Apart from a few dinosaurs, the argument for equal prize-money is accepted and viewers love them both and their stars.

From where football is now to where tennis is today is a long stretch. But not an impossible one. Having the BBC broadcast every England match of the UEFA European Women's Championship, instead of the games being hidden behind the red button, is another significant stage in that journey.

Sue Tibballs is the Chief Executive of the Women?s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF) ? the national charity that campaigns for a better deal for women?s sport. WSFF run campaigns aimed at highlighting inequality in women?s sport and work with sports bodies to help them improve sport for girls and women.

Sue has been chief executive of WSFF for seven years but has been a campaigner for women?s issues for over 20 years ? working on behalf of the Body Shop, the Women?s Environmental Network and the United Nations.

Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568360/s/2e5e02de/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cwomen0Cwomens0Elife0C10A166670A0CEuropean0EWomens0EFootball0EChampionship0E20A130ECould0Ethis0Ebe0Ethe0Emoment0Ewomens0Efootball0Egoes0Emainstream0Bhtml/story01.htm

MLB Draft 2013 Brian Hallisay Deacon Jones Mel B Gordon Gee National Hurricane Center Google Glass