There hasn't been a better time to write
about women in sport and the change in attitude that is stemming from their
feats on the field. In this past week, women have shown exactly what sport
should be about; passion, courage and determination. From the pristine lawns of
Wimbledon to the astro turfs of Canada, British women have been displaying
sporting greatness and proving they can battle it out on a World stage. With
increasing media coverage of female sports we have been able to witness this
greatness, and with this comes a change in the thoughts, opinions and attitudes
of the general population – a change for the better.
From Heather Watson; the British number
one tennis player nearly knocking the World number 1; Serena Williams, out of
Wimbledon, to the English Women's football team, reaching the semi-finals of
the football world cup for the first time in FIFA history, the Brits are leading
the way and with the backing of a whole Nation.
The history of women in sport is somewhat
ridiculous. For a period of time in athletics, women were banned from running distances
further than 800m as it was seen as detrimental to health, particularly childbirth.
Women’s football was banned for 50 years by the FA until the realisation that it
was considered unsuitable for a women’s physical frame was based on misconception
not fact, and was subsequently re-introduced in the 1970s. One of the most
recent changes in sport was the inclusion of women’s boxing at the 2012
Olympics, and aren’t Team GB grateful – Nicola Adams taking the first ever
Olympic gold seemed fitting for the host nation. Women in sport are starting to
be taken more seriously. There are still discrepancies between the men and
women in certain sports, with financial backing perhaps being the most
outrageous difference. Yet this is beginning to change, and so it should. For
the first time ever, in 2007, Wimbledon introduced equal prize money for men
and women – a change in fortune but more so a change in attitude.
Heather Watson ranked world number 59 and
the last surviving UK woman in the Wimbledon 2015 draw, was to take on the world
number 1 and potentially the best woman player tennis has ever seen – Serena
Williams. The pre-match feature included that of a 12 year old Heather Watson
interviewed in her Guernsey home, explaining how her role models in the sport
included the likes of the player she was about to step on court with. The
younger Watson went on to say how she hoped that one day, she would be a role
model for other girls; well that she is. A nervy first set from Watson finished
6-2 to Williams; it was time for the crowd to get behind Watson and for Watson
to start believing in herself. As errors started to creep into Williams’s game and
as Watson’s shaky start began to diminish, comeback started to occur and the
belief that Watson could potentially win this second set was more than a likely
outcome. Second set: 6-4 to Watson and momentum firmly in her hands.
Unbelievably, Watson had two early breaks and was 3-0 up in the third and final
set. Yet when you are the best in your sport and you are expected to win, you
don’t bow out easily. Williams is not a 20 Grand Slam winner for nothing and as
the pendulum swung, she was right back in it at 4-4. The pair were somewhat
inseparable at the end of this set and at 5-4 to Watson she needed two points
to seal the win of a lifetime. Williams, verbally fighting with all that she
had left, broke back and as Hawk-Eye showed that Watson’s ball was out - game,
set and match went to the expected pre-match champion. A hard loss to swallow
for Watson, but positives to take from it. She’d competed with the best,
displayed skill and finesse of the finest and shown mental strength and a
performance to be proud of. Her loss here can only catapult her into future
sporting greatness and at the age of 23, Watson should be an inspiration to us
all. She had the hopes of a nation on her shoulders on the biggest stage in
tennis and despite the loss; she’s won the hearts and attention of a nation and
shown that if you try hard enough, you can accomplish nearly anything.
Across the pond, another group of women
were doing the same. The FIFA Women’s World Cup began in 1991 occurring every
four years. England have reached the quarter final stage three times and went
into the 2015 tournament as the underdogs of the competition. Once past an
impressive group stage, other teams started to notice England, their adaptable
line-ups and tactical set-ups that were ensuring the team came out on top. For
the first time in FIFA World Cup history, England reached the semi-finals to
play Japan – the current World Cup holders. With the tournament being held in
Canada, it meant a late night for the English fans, with kick-off at 00:00 BST.
The Lionessess wanted a nation behind them, and that is what they got. There
was little to distinguish between the two teams and with a penalty at each end
during the 90 minutes, every pass, every tackle meant it remained a level
playing field. So there I found myself at 1:45am... expecting to stay up into
extra-time, until the unthinkable happened. In the 92nd minute, Laura Bassett
scored a freak own-goal but there really was no time for the team to come back
from that. As the whistle was blown the pitch was a scene of triumph and
heartbreak - as sport often is; always made worse when it is England that have
had their dreams crushed. They say a photo speaks a thousand words and the pain
and cruelty of what had just happened was etched across the face of every
English player, most so that of Bassett’s. As her team mates pushed cameras out
of the way of her face as she wept into her hands, it was clear to see how
close England had come to reaching the World Cup final.
At times like this, social media can be
punishing, but within minutes, #proudofBassett was trending on Twitter – it was a costly
mistake, but her World Cup performances had been outstanding and that goal
wasn’t to over shadow this. The post-match interviews were challenging for
every player but the team knew they had one more game to play – the third place
play-off. Head coach Mark Sampson said before the game that he wanted England
to be the best team in Europe at the end of this World Cup. Easier said than
done when standing in their way was a team at the top of the world rankings:
Germany. The greatest thing to see was Laura Bassett in the starting XI, throwing her body into tackle after tackle and proving why she'd been one of England's best players of the tournament. She'd put the semi-final heartbreak to the back of her mind and displayed courage of the highest order. As the match went on, there was a feeling that it was going to be one
fatigue-ridden mistake that would take either team to victory and as it entered
extra-time the realisation of an England vs. Germany penalty shootout was
becoming more likely. Then in the 108th minute, England were awarded
a penalty, and as Fara Williams stood up to the spot, the hopes of a team and
nation were relying on England’s most capped player. GOAL – inch perfect,
bottom corner, England were 1-0 up with just over ten minutes to play; surely
this was our time. Full time: England’s
first win against Germany in 31 years. A sterling performance, a deserved third
place and a 23-strong squad that will return home as heroes.
When England put on their jerseys to play,
you can tell they want to win. For themselves, for their team, but most
importantly, for their country –and that’s how it should be. The team have
become household names, their photos have been strung across every newspaper
and their third place win and outstanding tournament should, and will, become a
tipping point in English Women’s football. They’ve broken records, inspired a
generation and displayed exactly why women deserve a place in sport.
These girls can, will and have given
everything in their sports – something that should be admired nationwide. It
may be elite sport, but it is the grass roots where sports need to develop and
accelerate so that in years to come, performances such as these can repeat
themselves. Both of these performances can be a platform for that, women have
lead the way and the repercussions can be vast.
