Maybe better said in this way; if you can’t fix it from within a broken system, go out and build something you control and that allows you to drive your values. Like most industries, including politics, we are challenged to fix from the inside out. I think you are correct in suggesting the women’s game plots its own course with its own product offering, values and ideas. That’s how to win hearts and minds.
💯! That’s definitely another way to skin a cat. Nice follow-on from the mouse trap analogy. Real change doesn’t come from playing by the old rules. The women’s game has the chance to build a blueprint from values, not around them. That’s the real power play.
Especially the home grown talent and building a pipeline of players. That is what we’re in need of in the UK.
Also, the differentiation from the men’s club is vital. Not just in marketing but how the club treats each team internally. How the club sees the women’s team is how we, the public, will perceive it. Eg. Arsenal women training at the same facility as the men.
💯Carolynne! If you treat your women’s team like a side project, the public will too. Culture starts at the top, and fans can smell tokenism a mile off. Arsenal have set the benchmark, but the smarter move is building a club where your women’s pipeline isn’t just catching up; it’s setting the pace. That’s how you build legacy, not just loyalty.
While I agree with the idea that women’s football should not aim to become what the men’s counterpart has become today, I vehemently disagree with the rest of the article. Yes, women’s football should, and has the opportunity to, build a new framework that is more appropriate for their style of game and the needs of fans but, from what I am understanding, you are suggesting a yet another profit-oriented model that “adapts” itself to the digital world, essentially putting forward the idea if “highlights” only football. What FC COMO is doing is disconnecting the club from the territory, a connection that makes 50% of the beauty of the game, by creating “elite” experiences where you have to dress up and not many can participate. The opposite of the essence of football at its best. I am not naive and I know that sports require profit to create better opportunities for the players and fans alike, but I really dislike this manufactured approach. Performance comes first, not only with “the best players in the game”. In the US football was primarily a girls game, hence why it’s so much more advanced or taken into consideration. It was only a secondary option for boys until Americans woke up to the brand power of “soccer”. All sports are a fundamental part of school in the us, but do you know how much it costs to put your kid in teams that will potentially put them under the spotlight for going pro? It’s not a democratic system at all. That’s why most players in the US are white and middle class. With youth sports partecipation dropping at incredible rates, the issue is another one. Families cannot keep up with academy costs, travel football etc. which is the model in the us. We need more free spaces for play and an entire societal shift in the perception of women at all levels.
Completely agree. Build a new mouse trap. Excellent piece. Thank you.
Appreciate that Will, and loved the mousetrap analogy. Always better to build something new than just chase the old.
Maybe better said in this way; if you can’t fix it from within a broken system, go out and build something you control and that allows you to drive your values. Like most industries, including politics, we are challenged to fix from the inside out. I think you are correct in suggesting the women’s game plots its own course with its own product offering, values and ideas. That’s how to win hearts and minds.
💯! That’s definitely another way to skin a cat. Nice follow-on from the mouse trap analogy. Real change doesn’t come from playing by the old rules. The women’s game has the chance to build a blueprint from values, not around them. That’s the real power play.
Hell yes!
Especially the home grown talent and building a pipeline of players. That is what we’re in need of in the UK.
Also, the differentiation from the men’s club is vital. Not just in marketing but how the club treats each team internally. How the club sees the women’s team is how we, the public, will perceive it. Eg. Arsenal women training at the same facility as the men.
💯Carolynne! If you treat your women’s team like a side project, the public will too. Culture starts at the top, and fans can smell tokenism a mile off. Arsenal have set the benchmark, but the smarter move is building a club where your women’s pipeline isn’t just catching up; it’s setting the pace. That’s how you build legacy, not just loyalty.
While I agree with the idea that women’s football should not aim to become what the men’s counterpart has become today, I vehemently disagree with the rest of the article. Yes, women’s football should, and has the opportunity to, build a new framework that is more appropriate for their style of game and the needs of fans but, from what I am understanding, you are suggesting a yet another profit-oriented model that “adapts” itself to the digital world, essentially putting forward the idea if “highlights” only football. What FC COMO is doing is disconnecting the club from the territory, a connection that makes 50% of the beauty of the game, by creating “elite” experiences where you have to dress up and not many can participate. The opposite of the essence of football at its best. I am not naive and I know that sports require profit to create better opportunities for the players and fans alike, but I really dislike this manufactured approach. Performance comes first, not only with “the best players in the game”. In the US football was primarily a girls game, hence why it’s so much more advanced or taken into consideration. It was only a secondary option for boys until Americans woke up to the brand power of “soccer”. All sports are a fundamental part of school in the us, but do you know how much it costs to put your kid in teams that will potentially put them under the spotlight for going pro? It’s not a democratic system at all. That’s why most players in the US are white and middle class. With youth sports partecipation dropping at incredible rates, the issue is another one. Families cannot keep up with academy costs, travel football etc. which is the model in the us. We need more free spaces for play and an entire societal shift in the perception of women at all levels.