Challenging the Negative Perceptions of Girls’ Football
Women’s football has come a long way; it is no secret that female players have faced more challenges in the game. However, the last decade has seen considerable growth for girls’ and women’s football – and at Alliance FC, Dubai, we remain at the forefront of this continuous development.
Over the last decade, there have been vast improvements in the growth and development of the women's game, globally. The women’s football now consists of numerous professional leagues worldwide, professional full-time teams, and staff and players, which simply was not the case a decade ago. The number of professional athletes continues to grow rapidly each season, and the number of men’s football clubs injecting money into their female department has seen significant growth specifically within the last five years. Allowing their football clubs to have a female department, promotes equality, diversity and also provides a platform for young girls to dream big. Without showcasing the women's game globally, there wouldn’t be as big of a demand for young girls to have access in football, as there is now.
Whilst there is positive growth and development in the women's game, there is also negativity and uneducated opinions shared worldwide on a regular basis. A simple comparison to the men's game, gives people on social media platforms the opportunity to scrutinise and show disrespect towards everyone involved in the women's game. Females involved in the game know and understand there are physical differences between both games, with the speed it is played, and with the budgets on offer to receive high tech equipment and gadgets – unfortunately, football is football.
Whilst social media platforms can be used to promote and inspire young girls to play football, it can also be a window into negative comments, which can be off putting for young girls. As most of the young generation today have social media, it is important that they can see photos, watch videos, and read posts that are engaging, positive, exciting and fun. This is to capture their attention, and help them to see that being female and playing football IS OK. However, not only does negative media harm the growth of the women’s game, it is detrimental in making young girls feel worried, scared and outnumbered when taking their first steps in the game. For a young girl, watching their favourite professional female players playing for their clubs or countries, should be fun and positive and there to show them that a career for girls in football is possible.They should not have to witness the derogatory comments, negativity towards their gender and hate comments that typically flood social media platforms when the game is over.
Playing football as a team sport improves self-confidance & character development of any teen girl.
To challenge these negative perceptions, there has been an increase in equality and opportunity across the men's game, to help promote females working within the game. Also, there has been more promotion around the women's game in general, supported by global organisations and brands. Followed up with more personal support from their male counterparts at the football club where they play. Brands like Adidas and Nike always have both male and female athletes in their advertisements and campaigns. Showcasing this on a global platform encourages equality and suggests to the world that they are treating them as equals, so should they. In addition, many local football clubs, just like Alliance FC, now have a girl’s teams alongside their boy’s teams. Especially at Alliance FC, we give the same energy and focus to both our boys and girl’s teams. A decade ago, there may not have been many teams for girls to play in, however now more groups of girls are joining in, learning new skills and drills and having fun with their team mates.
In reality, though women’s football has come far – there is still a long way to go. Without showcasing the women's game on national TV, using female athletes as the face of brands, and encouraging men's football clubs to support all their athletes, not just their male athletes, there wouldn’t be as many professional players, staff and clubs visible for young girls to see. Every day, uneducated people will make offensive comments towards the women's game, but the growth and development will continue to rise, and gradually over time the amount of negativity will decrease.
Finding a safe place to play where you feel valued, appreciated and where you can grow as a player gives you the foundations to become resilient, brave and confident to become the best footballer you can be. Here at Alliance FC, we encourage our girls to work just as hard as the boys, if not even harder. We ask them to be accountable for their actions, turning up on time, looking professional in their Alliance uniform, and training to the best of their ability to constantly improve. We also support our girls with professionally qualified female football coaches. This shows them there can be a career in football, but also provides a role model of someone who has been where they are, and someone who has faced negativity and bounced back. Providing our Girls club with the best platform to grow and develop into fantastic footballers is at the heart of everything we do.
