Feminist Football Fury

Did you see that Thornaby FC voted to drop all their women’s and girls’ sections of the club for budget reasons? Apparently they didn’t discuss or consider making any cuts in the men’s team budgets. The 6 Board members who voted for this have now stepped down after the outraged response - great that there was an outraged response and that this has it seems forced the club to reinstate its women’s team, very much not great that this was necessary. Why do women so often need to hit the fury button in order to be heard and respected?

So much to rant about here. That this was no doubt a room of predominantly/entirely men making decisions without listening to or considering women. That we still live in a world where men and man stuff is more important and valued. That even the girls and women who do stay in sport (most drop out in their teens) face so many more difficulties playing their sport than men do.

This isn’t just about football (which is, in my view, pretty important in itself). It is yet another example of women’s lives being controlled and decided by the men in the majority. It’s happening in rooms and organizations everywhere in the world, right now. And it needs to stop.

Oh and also, I know I have said it many times before but doing Sport teaches really important things for work and life. Not just about teamwork and leadership skills, but about losing and failure being part of life and something to learn from. There is no room for Perfectionist Syndrome in sport.

So please let’s not give all this experience and learning to our boys and men but not our girls and women.