Why are Female Football Pundits Important?
Association football, or soccer if you're nasty, is played by a quarter of a billion people worldwide in over 200 countries, making it undoubtedly the world's favourite sport. Football's popularity is hardly surprising - after all, it has been around for quite some time. The Football Association (FA) was created over 150 years ago. First records of the humble kickabout date as far back as 206 BC China. Yet female pundits, commentators, or journalists are an altogether new phenomenon. The idea that a woman's opinion on football is worth listening to is a novelty, a talking point, a hot topic.
Just take a second to think about that. Modern football, both men's and women's, has been around for over a century, but here we are, in 2021, having to fight for the right to have our input valued - not only as commentators, pundits, and journalists but as fans.
To provide a bit of background, I have been a Liverpool supporter since I was about 9 years old, so 23 years. 23 years of intense highs and crushing lows. 23 years of tears, both of joy and of heartbreak. 23 years of unwavering support. 23 years of watching games week in, week out. 23 years of listening to a conveyor belt of men in tight, shiny, grey trousers talk about the sport I love. 23 years of having this love questioned, examined and mocked. 23 years of being talked down to. 23 years of making a point and being ignored, only to then have to listen to a man make the very same point to a chorus of agreement and praise. 23 years of women being overlooked, ridiculed, and belittled.
And now, two decades after my love affair with football began, I am finally seeing myself represented in the sport. Not as the butt of the joke or a lazy afterthought, but as pundits, as experts...but this change didn't happen overnight.
Female presenters have arguably laid the foundation for the pundits and journalists of today. The likes of Gabby Logan, Hayley McQueen, Kelly Cates, and many more have been presenting football coverage, news, or highlights for several years across channels such as the BBC, Sky Sports, and BT Sport. However, whilst this was a momentous first step, it's fair to say that the role of presenter does operate within certain restrictions in terms of input. Their job is to do just that, present the information, segue between games, and facilitate the conversation between the (male) pundits. Nevertheless, it was a start.
The 2018 Men's World Cup marked a real turning point as it saw Alex Scott and Eni Aluko, former England players with just shy of 250 caps between them, appear as pundits on the BBC's and ITV's coverage alongside Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Alan Shearer, et al. I remember watching the coverage in a beer garden in the glorious sunshine and getting quite emotional. The numerous beers I had consumed were a contributing factor, of course, but that wasn't why I was so moved. For the first time in my twenty years of being a football fan, women were sitting on a panel of expert pundits. And they weren't just taking part in the discussion, they were driving it, they were prepared, they were insightful, they were a breath of fresh air.
But this was hardly a surprise, right? They were both professional footballers with decades of experience both on and off the pitch. Nevertheless, it shocked Patrice Evra so much that it led to him patronisingly applauding Aluko following her comprehensive analysis of the Costa Rican team ahead of their group stage game against Serbia.
However, despite Evra's (probably well-meaning) applause and consistent high praise from various newspapers, Scott and Aluko faced a backlash from some who still felt as though women did not have the right to talk about football. Journeyman footballer Leon Knight took to Twitter to voice his anger, writing, "I DON'T WANNA SEE ANOTHER WOMAN TALKING FOOTBALL IN DETAIL ON SKY SPORTS OR BT SPORT. F**K OFF!" Knight, who played for 15 different clubs and was released by 4, argued that men and women were "nowhere near equal" and that female players "can't kick a ball".
In 2019, Scott said she receives sexist abuse "every single day" on social media because of her role and in January of this year, Karen Carney, who became the first female co-commentator on the men's game on BBC Radio 5 Live in 2019, deleted her Twitter account after a tweet by Leeds United questioning her comments led to an influx of online abuse. It seems as though the mere fact that an opinion or piece of analysis is being delivered in a woman's voice is enough to undermine her point and even trigger a barrage of abuse.
In response to this backlash, some male pundits have spoken up in defence of their female counterparts. Former Arsenal and England striker, Ian Wright, said that he is embarrassed by the abuse female pundits face, adding that they have made him "up his game" as they are so knowledgeable and prepared. Speaking to the Game Changers podcast, he commented: "When women come on, they know that they are under amazing pressure because people are looking to find fault with anything they say. So they're very, very prepared." And that's the bittersweet truth of the matter. Yes, female pundits are eloquent, yes they are exceedingly well-prepared, but that's because they are put under a microscope week in, week out. Every single word that comes out of their mouths is being scrutinised. The slightest slip-up and there are calls for them to be dropped, to "stay in their lane", or, the old favourite, "get back in the kitchen."
Male pundits just aren't under the same amount of pressure. How many times have we seen a former male footballer come onto Match of the Day and half-heartedly give their opinion on a game? Get players' names wrong? Provide very little actual analysis? Are they subject to online abuse? And if they are, is it because of their gender? No. And this inequality, this inability to judge men and women on the same merits, is mirrored in football fans, where the validity of a female football fan's passion for and knowledge of football is evaluated, examined, and undermined in every interaction. But still, we show up, we voice our opinions, we engage in conversations about the sport we love - all in the hope that one day, women in football, that's fans, pundits, commentators, and journalists, alike, will be treated with the respect we deserve.
On April 13th, another significant step was made along this road to equality when Alex Scott was announced as the first female host of Football Focus following Dan Walker's decision to leave the role after 12 years. Whilst there's a long way to go to achieving equality in the football industry, Scott's appointment does feel like a milestone, an indicator of more progress to come. And that's why female football pundits, commentators, and journalists are so important: representation. They show women everywhere that the football industry isn't just a boys' club. They put their reputation, and often their safety, on the line to pave the way for future generations. They inspire young female football fans, like 9-year-old me, to persevere despite the prejudice, make their voices heard, and seek careers in sports journalism.
Women deserve and have earned a seat at the table. This is only the beginning. The future for women in football is bright.
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Written by Victorianna Balaktsoglou
Victorianna Balaktsoglou is a content marketer turned supply languages teacher based in Milton Keynes, but hailing from the much sunnier Athens, Greece. A keen linguist and craft enthusiast, she is passionate about body liberation, gender equality, football, all things creative, and good food.
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