No 10 says it will find ‘appropriate’ way to celebrate defeated finalists as Labour calls for full-team honours
No 10 is considering awards for England’s female footballers for reaching the World Cup final, as Labour called for the whole team to get honours.
Downing Street said it would find a way to reward the players after they lost 0-1 in the final to Spain in Australia on Sunday.
Continue reading...Company faces mounting criticism for not offering goalkeeper’s England kit as player wins tournament’s Golden Glove award
Nike is facing increased demands to sell a Mary Earps shirt after the England player saved a penalty in the World Cup final and was named the tournament’s best goalkeeper.
Despite winning the Fifa award for best women’s goalkeeper last year, having conceded just two goals all tournament when England were crowned Euro 2022 champions, fans have been unable to buy her jersey, unlike those of her teammates.
Continue reading...Decision not to fly to Australia has been questioned by those who say Lionesses deserved top-level support
The Prince of Wales may have cheered on the Lionesses from afar, but has faced criticism from some quarters at home over his reluctance to get on a plane to support the England team in person.
William was absent from Stadium Australia on Sunday despite being president of the Football Association, and is understood to have made the decision not to go because of the long flight involved for such a short period of time.
Continue reading...The safe hands of Gabby Logan or the incisive analysis of Eni Aluko? When England play Spain in Sunday’s final, it’s time for viewers to choose their channel
Going into this World Cup final, there is one clear favourite: their squad has depth and experience; the line-up has proven quality and leadership; and perhaps most importantly, they have performed on the biggest stages before and come out victorious. We are talking about the BBC, which once again will do head-to-head battle for the nation’s eyeballs with ITV as a subplot to the England-Spain match in Sydney.
The clash, historically, has not gone well for ITV. For the men’s World Cup final last December, nearly 20 million Britons tuned in, with three-quarters (15 million) favouring the BBC. Of course, the BBC has the selling point of no ad breaks and the prestige of being seen as a destination for nationally significant events. But ITV’s coverage so far in this World Cup has been slick and engaging, so can the upstart, packed with young, fresh talent, pull off a shock?
Continue reading...If La Roja beat England, Spain’s apathetic media would finally have to take notice
Slicing sourdough on the stainless-steel counter of a London tapas restaurant, Ana Lorenzo hopes victory for La Roja will banish the sexism she says still stalks women’s football in Spain.
“It’s so sexist in Spain compared to here. The attitude to women’s football is many years behind. And despite doing so well, the women’s team hasn’t really gripped the media,” she says, shaking her head.
Continue reading...Supermarkets, pubs and advertisers the winners as supporters prepare for match against Spain
Supermarkets, pubs and TV advertisers are preparing to enjoy a bumper weekend as football fans rush to celebrate the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday morning.
As many as 13.7 million people are expected to tune in when the Lionesses take on Spain in the highly anticipated fixture in Australia – the first time a senior England football team has appeared in a World Cup final since 1966.
Continue reading...Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria police turned down request for escort for Fifa president, which is normally reserved for foreign heads of state
Fifa asked Australian police in multiple jurisdictions to provide escorts for president Gianni Infantino during his travel for the Women’s World Cup, but was turned down.
Infantino asked Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales police to provide him with escorts, the Guardian has confirmed.
Continue reading...Councils accused of downplaying women’s football compared with men’s, with scarcity of planned public viewing parties
The Lionesses drew an average of 4.6 million viewers during their World Cup semi-final, yet fans are disappointed that councils have failed to respond to the team’s success by putting on free public viewing parties for the final.
The BBC said a peak audience of 7.3 million tuned in to watch England beat Australia 3-1 on Wednesday, despite the time zone difference resulting in an 11am kick-off time.
Continue reading...Despite narrow defeat to England, team’s efforts in Australia win praise after what some saw as a lack of official backing
Nigerian football fans in the Lagos suburb of Shomolu had nothing but praise for their team after their narrow defeat on penalties to England in the Women’s World Cup on Monday.
The suburb, home to much of the country’s printing industry, is usually a hive of industrial activity, but many of its presses fell silent on Monday morning as workers gathered in groups around televisions to watch the Super Falcons take on the European champions in Brisbane.
Continue reading...From Suffolk to Sheffield, youngsters inspired by England’s Euros triumph sat down before big screens to enjoy the side’s World Cup campaign
Ninety minutes before the Lionesses took to the pitch for their World Cup opener, the under-11s Hadleigh United girls’ team kicked off their own tournament – a mini World Cup five-a-side organised by coach Matt French. More than two dozen girls, representing global national teams, showed off their skills to cheering families and friends.
After the final whistle, it was time to head to the clubhouse to watch the England women’s team play.
Continue reading...The chief executive of Football Australia has told the Observer that he is “pretty confident and optimistic” players will be allowed to wear rainbow armbands at the Women’s World Cup, after holding talks with Fifa. In a highly significant development, James Johnson said there had been “meaningful dialogue” between the hosts and football’s governing body and that it was likely to lead to players having greater ability to express themselves.
In an exclusive interview, Johnson also revealed that discussions had taken place over permitting Indigenous First Nation flags to be flown inside stadiums at July and August’s competition in Australia and New Zealand, saying it was an important issue for his country and its team.
Continue reading...Players criticise the BBC for questioning their integrity and naming individuals without consent
Female football players who fled Afghanistan after Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021 are criticising a recent BBC article which has labelled some of those evacuated as “false footballers”.
The investigation by BBC Newsnight said some of the descriptions of UK visa applicants as national players or members of a regional team “appear to be false”. The report said there is resentment among “genuine players” now living under Taliban rule.
Continue reading...Saudi Arabia’s tourist authority is to sponsor football’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this year, despite the country’s history of oppression of women’s rights.
Fifa is expected to confirm that Visit Saudi will join international brands such as Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa in attaching its name to the 32-team tournament that will kick off in front of an expected 50,000 supporters at Auckland’s Eden Park on 20 July.
Continue reading...England captain Leah Williamson is one of four Euro 2022 winners to be recognised in the New Year honours list.
The Arsenal defender lifted the Lionesses’ first major trophy after the team’s 2-1 extra-time defeat of Germany at Wembley to earn the only piece of silverware for an England senior side since the men’s team’s World Cup triumph in 1966. The 25-year-old becomes an OBE, while her teammates Beth Mead, Ellen White and Lucy Bronze have been awarded MBEs. The head coach Sarina Wiegman has also been awarded an honorary CBE.
Continue reading...Brian May and Grayson Perry are knighted, Denise Lewis is made a dame and Frank Skinner becomes MBE
The fashion designer Mary Quant, the Lionesses and the Queen guitarist Brian May are among those recognised in the first new year honours of the king’s reign.
Quant, 92, who as one of the most influential fashion figures in the swinging 60s popularised the miniskirt and hot pants, becomes a Companion of Honour, one of the top honours.
Continue reading...Out come the two sides onto a dramatically lit Allianz Stadium pitch. There’s firework smoke haze, spotlights, and the feel of a pop concert.
The new Allianz Stadium is resplendent tonight, all shiny and new and filled with fancy lights and noise from the PA system, which is alternating between loud pop music and interactions with fans.
With 20 minutes to go before kick-off, fans are still making their way in (and risking missing the firework display), possibly stopping off for a quick cheeseburger spring roll or two from one of the many concourse outlets (disclaimer: I have not seen a cheeseburger spring roll and know not what they are, nor can I vouch for their tastiness and/or health benefits).
Continue reading...Three days ago the Matildas were in crisis. There were 320 days until a home World Cup and a 1-0 friendly loss to Canada indicated – once again – that getting anywhere near the trophy was basically an insurmountable task. Tony Gustavsson, the man appointed to steer an underperforming Australia to said trophy, was starting to be seen as less like a nice-natured, slightly quirky man with a very good plan and more like a slick corporate type who delivers interesting TED talks but whose advice is not quite working for those he was hired to help.
On Tuesday night, with 317 days to go, he emerged for the rematch at Allianz Stadium wearing a hospital-white hoodie and white trainers, Matildas merchandise around his neck and an earpiece that had him looking every bit the new-age life coach. He had just told media the previous day that he still had the backing of Football Australia and pleaded with external forces to trust in his process.
Continue reading...Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson believes his squad is in a race against time to complete preparations for next year’s Women’s World Cup but that home-field advantage can help push the team towards success.
Australia will co-host the 32-team finals in July and August with neighbours New Zealand, and Gustavsson warned against complacency ahead of his side’s latest preparation matches.
Continue reading...Study shows female Euro players got 125 positive posts for each hate one – in contrast to abuse directed at England men
The vast majority of social media posts directed at England women’s triumphant Euro 2022 football players across a three-month period were positive, research has found.
The study of 78,141 posts on Twitter, Reddit and the imageboard website 4chan identified more than 50,000 positive posts – roughly one “hate” post for every 125 “hope” ones.
Continue reading...Germany’s women would have received €60,000 each if they had won European Championships, while the men would have received €400,000
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has made a push for equal pay for female international footballers after the team made it to the final of the recent European Championships.
“My position on this is clear,” Scholz said after a meeting on Tuesday with the German Football Association (DFB) to discuss the issue. “We talked about how we can continue to help more girls and women get excited about football. Of course, the wages at such tournaments play a major role in this,” he said.
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