The Manchester United women’s team took on Tottenham on Sunday, October 13. The game took place in the suburbs of Manchester at Leigh Sports Village.
Around the stadium stood many young girls excited to see their favourite players and cheer them on. However, this has not always been the case for women in sports specifically in Manchester.
Women In Sports reported a persistent 22% gender gap in sports participation between boys and girls.
Manchester United’s Women’s football team was formed in 2018, while the men’s team was formed in 1878. That is a 140-year difference between the men’s team forming and the women’s team forming.
“The number of women and girls and stuff like in four years it’s transformed, that’s why you support it. Yeah, that’s the difference, you see all these girls and the impact on women’s football and it’s twice as much fun than it used to be,” said Manchester United Women’s Football season’s ticket holder Mark.
Approximately 4,473 fans attended the game. This is a huge change from previous years. Mark has noticed a massive shift in support. “When I came here four years ago, there was only half a stand that was there and there was perhaps about a thousand people came to support the women’s team. Since then till now, we’ve won the European Championship,” said Mark.
One young fan in particular, Sofia age 8, was driven to support the women’s team after her recent interest in playing the sport. She told us her favourite player is Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who is the goaltender for Manchester United. Her mom Kim likes how the team is influencing the next generation. “ I think the game is growing massively, and I think it’s really important for the next generation. So, when I was younger I had no interest in football, it wasn’t accessible for me, but it’s hugely accessible now for her, and I want to support it so it keeps growing when she gets older,” said Kim.
Sofia held up a sign asking for Phallon’s gloves. She got them with the goaltender’s signature.
After two halfs, Manchester United pulled out a 3-0 win against Tottenham. Many young girls left the game inspired. As football and sports become more diverse and inclusive to women we see more and more opportunities for women athletes to flourish.
Leave a Reply