I find it encouraging that women playing football in big stadiums and on TV is so “normal” for my daughter in ways that it wasn’t for her mum

As a parent it’s meant a lot to me to introduce my daughter to something that’s brought me a lot of treasured memories and friendships – football – and at the same time show her that it’s a sport that is just as accessible for her now as it was for me at her age. I want her to grow up in a world where opportunities and experiences aren’t gated off based on gender, race or sexual orientation and so initiatives like Rainbow Blades are very important to me.

It’s been heartwarming watching her interest and investment in the sport develop over the last few years, although that does now mean that she gets more disappointed by defeats! And while the men’s game obviously has decades-worth of a headstart on the women’s sport, I find it encouraging that women playing football in big stadiums and on TV is so “normal” for my daughter in ways that it wasn’t for her mum, for example.

I’ve become more and more of a fan of women’s football in the last few years, and the acceleration of ability at the elite level is almost shocking. Like the men’s game, a team’s financial investment tends to correlate with success but it also feels like there’s far more emerging players even outside of the biggest teams – Isobel Goodwin from last year’s United team being a prime example. And while the men’s game has exponentially more investment at this stage, that does also mean that the sport doesn’t feel as “solved” as men's football, where superclubs hoover up all the talent even at a young age. 

While we’ve not had much to shout about at Bramall Lane so far this season, we both love coming to support the team and she immediately latched onto Molly Graham as one of her favourite players and was gutted about her injury. However this season ends we’ll be back next year to hopefully see the Blades develop even further on and off the pitch, and perhaps another future WSL star or two coming through the ranks.

Ben Meakin - BladesPod

http://www.benmeakin.com/