I’m not a football fan (yet).
BUT.
I have a plan for how football could be a better game
… Mixed gender teams 
5 women, 5 men, goalie either gender
that would be brilliant.
As some one who is both a fan of women’s and men’s football;
I can assure you Hattie that the plan would get close to zero traction. I went to my first live match 24 years ago (Sept. 1992).
First and foremost. Fringe football has famously been around for a while. Beach footy, 5 on 5’s and the like are notoriously unsupported. This is because the old proverb goes; if you can play it, you don’t want to see it. The speed, skill level, and cohesion in professional football is at its highest point ever. The maximum KMH, yards traveled and the so are being breached at a phenomenal pace.
Football is famously cut between two groups. The majority is that which sees it as a cultural expression. Geordies sing the Blaydon Races, Juve wave the Savoyad flag, Boca Juniors sings about being the people’s club, and Real and Barcelona argue over who supported Franco. This group, as you can tell from your nation, always supports their colors. Gunners fans support Arsenal ladies. I bring that up, because unless these mixed sides would take from the main squads, and represent said teams, it would be unsupported by this school.
There are the beautiful game supporters, people who follow the game simply for the art. They tend to concern themselves solely with the value of play, and are never seen in any event which doesn’t feature a “Top 20 Tier” team, or high level international tournaments, save youth events.
That isn’t even speaking on the difference in athleticism dependent of testosterone levels. Skill level in the women’s game is a beautiful thing, and two groups of friends will have a grand mixed game (I sure have). But at the top level, the difference in what testosterone does to the body will become apparent. The top 10 dribble sprint times on the women’s side (including rockets like Rapinoe) will not breach the top 100 in men’s football. There are Forwards with faster initial acceleration than Usain Bolt.
These games will be trying, and would result in the cream of the crop from the women’s side being called in. They have a super demanding schedule between League, Domestic and International Cup, and International team play. It would take a huge toll on women’s football, which is blossoming, and do so for something that the men’s side can afford to send in less than stellar players.
The concept of gender divided supports always sat wrong with me. Ideally I’d like it to not exist, but scientifically, practically, and with any dose of reality, it always will.
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Oh, it would never happen, never get near the table. It’s been openly declared that nobody will pay for additional changing rooms. Women’s sport is blossoming in some areas but it will never, ever be as high profile. Just doesn’t have the testosterone to catch up, I guess.
Hattie, you’ve got me talking footy. I’ll never shut up now.
Some clubs have recanted on that, as well as they should have.Training facilities for clubs that may have inter lapping time periods of practice are now made to facilitate both, either with private changing areas, or with a brand new area. As part of the overall budget, this is minuscule and could actually allow for some huge improvements in the venues where the games will be played, as well as the quality of the team/morale. The women’s game in many areas is untapped, and very dimly so.
This is a huge flaw, and much of it has to do with the patriarchal set up of organizations like FIFA, which are rife with corruption. It really isn’t at club level, and the clubs aren’t to be blamed. They’re risk averse, and most businesses tend to be. The Federations as a whole should be making motions to lower the risk involved.
I tend to urge people to support their women’s National Sides, but more importantly, also show up to their Local Women’s games.
There are some things I prefer in the women’s sport to the men’s. There is a lot less diving. A LOT. There is some, but it isn’t as prevalent. I think a lot of that is because they know that their detractors are looking to go ‘AWW LOOK AT THE WITTLE GIRL’, and they know that picking themselves back up of the pitch is the best ‘f you’ that you can give them.
As one chant ironically goes; “Our (Us) bitches ain’t bitches.”
The skill level though is an obvious gap. Physicality is a big part of the sport, as are reaction times, strength, speed, and some other factors, which are all developed biologically as part of our mammalian roots. Also, the men’s sides often have far better rivalries, which may spill over in to disgusting hooliganism, but more often than not create an amazing atmosphere in the stands. That cannot be replicated in a few years time, as it has taken over 150 years of Federation football to get it where it is.
That being said; there is a national side movement that claims; equal pay for equal play. And I am completely 100% behind this movement.
Here are the reasons as to why;
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All players on National side players get paid the same amount of money. This is INCREDIBLY important factor. I would be okay with the idea that national teams are like clubs, they lure you by paying you what you’re worth. So a player with dual citizenship can be ‘tempted’ to playing for another nation. But this is not the case. Italy pays all of it’s players the same, as does the United States. The theory is that FIFA’s International Competitions are often labeled ‘football diplomacy’ and are for the beauty of the game. If that is the case, the women deserve the same amount as the men. If it is not the case, some one needs to explain to me how in the Holy 7 Hells Gianluigi Buffon is getting paid the same amount of money as Simone Zaza.
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Women are putting in the same amount of time as the men for International competitions, and often times, with far worst facilities to practice in. Again, this is the federated and regulated side of the sport, and they’re being brought in by a national federation, and FIFA gets to keep the majority of the money from these competitions. What they’re doing technically violates many labor laws internationally as this isn’t based off of contractual obligation.
(Contractual Obligations: Players who sign a club contract are essentially barred from playing for other organizations, but they’re still paid a wage dependent on the contract. They only get this wage IF they follow the clubs rules, but they’re full welcome NOT to play and wait out their contract until it runs out, and just go ahead and play for another team. These contracts are individually negotiated. This is not the case with National teams, who essentially have a mix of prize money per victory and a per game pay out, which is playable only after the fact. So if you get injured in a club, they have to pay you weekly wages regardless, but if you get injured while playing for a national team, it was nice knowing you.)
- Unlike men’s football, women’s sports are under assault in many places of the world. There are nations out there where female athletes are subject to death threats simply for playing the game. It is FIFA’s job to address these issues, and they have put no effort in to it whatsoever. One of the reasons they’ve pushed their “SAY NO TO RACISM” campaign, is because of it’s international appeal. Few countries openly espouse racism. On the other hand, gender inequality, homophobia and many other persecutions are still the norm. FIFA will do nothing to alter this. In fact, they recently gave the World Cup to Qatar, who ranked 113th out of 152 and in the Gender Equality Index, and 115th out of 136th in the Gender Gap Index. OH, and homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. Their say ‘No to Racism’ campaign has little to do with actual care for minority players who are subject to abuse, and far more to do with creating a front so that if they’re accused of being biased they can go; 'Who us!? The guys running the campaign?!"
Women’s Football will never approach the degree of quality as Men’s football, but truth be told, that shouldn’t really bar people from supporting their local women’s side with the same verve. The parity in the game often equates to far better match ups, and the players aren’t as jaded. I was once pretty annoyed that a place I go to wasn’t selling an “Alex Morgan” kit in a MEN’S size. Howay man, you’ve got god-damn Liverpool tea cozies! Last time they won the League half of the people in the stands weren’t born and yet you’ve got a bloody tea cozy set with their emblem on it, but I can’t get a men’s cut of the best female player on the planet last year?
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Footy?
That’s a new one…
If it is. I’m a time traveler;
Welcome to the past.
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I would go with the future. They probably have gender equality there, and unicorns!
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@hattieinduni
So watch your local football clubs! Support them. And support their WOMEN’S SIDE.
But also support Juventus.
Always supprot Juventus.
Scratch that, just support Juve. Glory be to Juve.
Ok now we’ve hit upon the greatest challenge of all… is there a way to make football fun to watch? 
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Other than the exhilaration of the greatest sport on earth? /bias
Kick around the ball with friends. You’d be surprised how much you love something you’re even a small part of.
You’re an active member of a forum because of your love of a game, and fandom is kind of like that. It is appreciating something beyond it’s most basic facade. Go to a local game and feel the stadium tremble when the local hero comes on to the pitch. Go to your local side and see a bright eyed 16 year old trying to make a name.
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I have basically zero interest in watching people kick a ball, but I found this an interesting read, and one I regrettably think you have a point in. Probably the most practical suggestion I’ve run across in such a matter was a discussion of whether sports could be sorted by weight class instead (akin to wrestling), but even in that case it seems as if there would be basic physiological issues.
The issue with something like football in this case is not whether men and women have different potential peaks of fitness (they obviously do, although I still think it’s important to be careful about how an entire world can be built around differences that tend to be presumed fundamental) but whether the difference in a team game with both men and women would be so severe it would make the game unplayable.
I always understood football to be more based on skill than endurance, which is why I considered the idea (I’m not suggesting there should be a mixed gender Tour de France - though, again, it would be nice for female cyclists to get a version of it,or an event with anything like the coverage). I’m willing to believe at a the top levels the disparity would be an issue, but I’m not so convinced about every level and every game played from the age of 13+.
@TemetNosce
@hattieinduni
The danger of it in the higher level is the same danger with smaller nations having their domestic stars poached by larger FA’s.
If we’re to have super talented players, like Rapinoe, getting purchased by men’s teams, there is nothing to suggest they wouldn’t be tactically used. But what you’re in essence doing is degenerating the quality of the women’s table by their best player, for a facet of a larger team. It is very bad for women’s leagues.
As for younger teams. There is literally no difference between girls and boys prior to puberty. But after it, the difference is noticeable.
My high school side had 16 players for the men’s team, not enough for 11 on 11 matches. So they got the idea of mixed practice, and by they I meant the players themselves.
The girls team was ranked high in our local division, while our guys was patchy at best. It ended an ugly 4 nil for the guys with practically all of it coming from their TALL centreforward. It came all down to physique, despite the other side being arguably equally or more talented as a unit.
This is incredibly anecdotal, and not statistical in any way, but it illustrates a point.
If this were the norm, it may ultimately be damaging to the development of the female league. Where out of form male players relegate themselves to, as opposed to one who develops it’s talent. And, often times these teams will only be looking to get the biggest name, which will most likely be a male one.
The issue with the concept as a whole is that it is more based off of a perfect reality, where physical parity is innate, but that’ll never be the case.
The only thing you can do, if the issue matters to you, just support your local women’s side. They’ll still be far better players than you, and they’re playing damn good footy.
Yes, the system is so determinedly divided already it’s probably best for most people to work within it, despite the negative impact that it does have… I’ll leave the football to my better sisters on the field; I’ve never been much of a team game. When it comes to sport I like running… preferably a long way from “normal people”… and swimming, which admittedly is with others but I’m so short sighted I almost literally don’t notice they’re there 
While I no longer really get exercise other than walking, you’ve my empathy, I’ve generally preferred less team oriented sports in the past. Before I found out my hearing issues prevented me from doing diving I swam a lot, and up until my late teens I engaged in free climing, kept biking and hiking into my 20s. All good fun. Albeit, looking back the free climbing may have been a tad stupid. Sort of wound up doing it as a default, since I used to clamber about sea cliffs as a child. Realized in my teens that once you get past a hundred feet it’s really not going to get much more dangerous anyways.
On a side note related to the earlier topic though, I do have to ask why we consider sex differently as a disqualifier. I mean look at race for example, which is significant enough that some sports are dominated by a single ethnicity. Should sex really be treated that differently? Even if a combined league creates a game which is drastically skewed, is it necessarily a hard indication that it’s a bad idea to leave the choice open to the players? Admittedly, I’m asking this from a more general standpoint rather than from the premise of the current state of your football leagues (which I admit I know very little about), but it seems like more of a cultural point to draw a line than one that’s fundamentally different.
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Mind you asking temet, are you a lady or a gentleman?