I have so much to say about life in Isolation, but one thing that has struck me massively, is something that I’ve been so aware of before. Yet suddenly it seems even more necessary to talk about it and do something. Obviously I’ve found myself with a lot more time on my hands. Maybe that’s why the YouTube rabbit holes I find myself down have been longer and deeper than ever before. The odd video of the Arsenal Women’s team having fun have led me on to accounts of their day to day lives. Lives that aren’t filled with mansions and home gyms. So what do they do at this point. Football has been suspended. But they need to train somehow. In the case of Beth Mead, she took to social media to try and get hold of an exercise bike.
Obviously there’s a much bigger picture here to think about. I’m not here to get involved in the debate about whether male footballers should take a pay cut. But considering one of the arguments that has arisen during this is that a 20% pay cut for a premier league footballer could “financially ruin” them. I think perhaps we should take a step back and look at the bigger picture here. Why is it ok for them to continue to get paid £250,000 plus a week? When the average salary for women in the WSL is £26,752 a year!
Take a second to look at the arguments that I’ve heard over the years as to why men’s football is bigger than the women’s game. The one I’ve heard a lot is “quality”. The quality of men’s football is better than women’s? You’d be surprised how many of these people haven’t even seen a game of professional women’s football. I think until the men and women’s teams are given the same amount of funding. The opportunity to train to the same standard this is something that really cannot be judged. I for one find the women’s game to be a lot less stop start. I’ll be honest there’s not as much rolling on the floor. But hey maybe if they had an audience of 60,000 to perform in front of. That could change. Like I said; we won’t know this until we give them that platform to show us exactly what they can do.
I’ll take us back 100 years. Something many people don’t know, that I myself only found out about a few years ago. Women’s games attracted bigger crowds that men’s games. With men being sent away to fight in WW1 the women’s game recorded a record crowd of nearly 70,000 on boxing day 1920. Once the war ended and the men returned, the women’s game was pushed away. The FA put a ban on women’s football in 1921, saying it was “quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged”. This ban was only lifted fifty years later in 1971. So the women’s game ultimately had to start from scratch once again.
I know I may sound like a hypocrite. I’ve continued to pay out for a season ticket at the emirates for the past six seasons. I don’t go to as many of the Arsenal women’s games as I should. This isn’t for any reason other than convenience if I’m totally honest. The women play at a ground in Hertfordshire with a capacity of 4,500. It’s a 15 minute walk from the nearest train station where trains run into St Pancras. I’m based in South London so it’s not the easiest journey. Especially as the games are usually played on a Sunday and the Thameslink doesn’t usually run straight through. But this all adds onto the problems that they’re up against. The Emirates Stadium is five minutes walk from a Tube station. I can’t for the life of me understand why the women don’t play there. Premier league teams have shared grounds in the past so there’s no way that the men and women’s teams can’t do the same. Going forward after the world starts to get back on it’s feet I will definitely be making the effort to get up to Hertfordshire as often as possible, until they’re playing at the Emirates!
During one of my many YouTube viewing sessions. I came across a video of Jordan Nobbs from five years ago. “A day in the life”. During it she said she lived in a house with other players from the Arsenal women’s team. I also noticed that many of the players have been social distancing in the same houses. Probably to stop themselves going mad. But even then they’re hardly hauled up in big mansions. In a live video with Leah Williamson and Jordan Nobbs, Willamson said her apartment wasn’t that big and she doesn’t even have any outside space. Quite the opposite of male players with their big gardens and vast homes. I also wonder if players often have to move to different clubs for financial reasons. If they have a family to support, perhaps they actually have to find somewhere that they can actually afford to live. The same way most people with a salary of £26,000 would struggle. We all know that living in and around London is super expensive. I’d be tempted to take myself up north or even abroad if it meant I could live comfortably on what I make doing what I love.
One thing I’ve been particularly curious about is what the injury process is for women players compared to men. I hope that they get the same amount of care and rehab. But if it’s like all the other aspects I sincerely doubt that is the case. What about players who have career ending injuries. What happens when they suddenly can’t get paid for the thing that they love, the thing they’ve worked harder than ever for. They don’t have millions of pounds in the bank ready to support them until they figure that out. I have so many questions about so much when it comes to this. But for now I guess all I can do is speculate.
I’ve had so much time to think about many things over the past couple of months. But this is something I’m really ready to focus on. Perhaps when the world comes out of this, whatever it looks like. I will make it my mission to really try and change this and show everyone what this actually is. Compare the life of the lowest paid Premier League player and the highest paid Women’s Super League player. Really show everyone what’s what in the sport that we love so much. Until then I will continue to think about this all. Obviously the main thing is I can’t do this alone. I don’t think I will….