THE IMPACT OF THE LIONESSES ON GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL

This year, the 2023 Women's World Cup pulled in a record-breaking television audience as 21.2 million watched the BBC's overall coverage of the tournament between July and August 2023. The final between England and Spain was watched by a peak audience of 12 million viewers on BBC One and recorded almost four million more views on the BBC iPlayer and app.

Last year was a defining year for women’s football in England. On Sunday 31st July 2022, England’s Lionesses secured a historic victory against eight-time champions, Germany, at Wembley in the dramatic Euro 2022 final.

The moment was witnessed by 87,192 fans in Wembley stadium - an all-time high for a European Championship tournament - and reached a peak television audience of 17.4 million people with a further 5.9 million steams online.

The historic Euros win culminated in the then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Nadine Dorries, announcing that grassroots facilities will be named after the 23 female players who were part of the team that brought home the victory.

These pitches will be located in and around their hometowns or places that have shaped their footballing careers in honour of their achievement and to increase participation for women and girls at grassroots level.

This came as part of the Government’s pledge to invest £230 million into building or improving 8,000 grassroots football and multi-sport facilities by 2025.

I asked the former Culture Secretary, why it was so important that the government invested in grassroots football for women and girls after the Lionesses’ Euros win.

She said: “I didn’t want it to be a one-year wonder. It was important to me that there was a legacy there to inspire young girls to play football.

“When a big moment like this happens in women’s sport, you see an immediate uptake in that sport. But historically, it has ultimately fizzled out again.

“It was about keeping that momentum going. It was one small thing I could do.”

Dorries added: “Women’s football is now firmly on the map – that’s the Lionesses’ legacy.”

There is no doubt that the Lionesses have propelled women’s football to new heights over the last couple of years, but what has been the impact at grassroots level?

It’s dark and cold - a typical for November evening. But chairman and coach of Athenlay FC, Paul Parker, is wrapped up and ready to deliver an U11s Girls’ training session at 5.30pm followed by a women's recreational session at 6.30pm. Athenlay train at Homestall Road Sports Ground in Peckham, south-east London, and Paul invited me down to watch and speak to some of the girls involved.

From starting with an initial six girls, not even enough for a single team, the club now has 12 female grassroots teams with the youngest players aged from nine years old, right through to their oldest player at 56.

Paul has been a grassroots coach for 10 years, and believes that the Lionesses legacy is the confidence they have instilled in a new generation of female players.

“I get asked a lot if we have seen increasing numbers of girls wanting to sign up and play since the Lionesses' Euros win last year, or off the back of their FA cup performance this year. And the answer is no, we had our peak before that.

“But what we have seen is that the girls talk about it more now. They are more interested in the tactics of the game now and I have seen them grow in confidence since being able to see prominent role models on the TV.

“More of them are watching the games too since the Euros, and talking about it and comparing notes on tactics, like my boys teams have done for years.

“I was listening to our under 11s team talking amongst themselves the other day, excitedly chatting away about their new kit and comparing their numbers to the Lionesses’. They knew all the players and their numbers, in the same way I do for the England men’s team. I’ve never seen that before from a girls’ team in my 10 years as a coach.”

Paul has also recently been awarded Grassroots Coach of the Year (Female Pathway) 2023 by the London FA.

His observation that the Lionesses have given confidence to many young players, was echoed by the players themselves.

Sitting in the clubhouse Phoebe and Raia, who play for Athenlay FC’s U14 team, had come to training, despite it not being their session, to speak with me about the Lionesses.

Phoebe said: “Watching England women play makes me more confident to play. I played football before the Euros win last year, but since then I have become more confident to play. They are an inspiration.”

And Raia reiterated this, saying: “I think more girls want to play football now because of the Lionesses. But they have also given confidence to the girls like me who were already playing.”

I also spoke with Emily, 11, who plays for both Athenlay U12s and Charlton Academy as a goal keeper. She said: “It’s inspiring to see women reaching the highest level in their sport and it gives me the confidence to play and aspire to be like them.”

It is telling that all three players, and their coach, identified the boost of confidence as a result of seeing the Lionesses representing them on an international stage as an integral part of their legacy.

Speaking on the phone with The Times’ Chief Football Writer, Henry Winter, he identifies another key dynamic leading to the rise in popularity of the women’s game.

He tells me that, rather than following specific clubs, young fans tend to follow individual players, who they view as role models both on and off the pitch.

“The younger generation tends to follow individuals as much as, if not more than, clubs. People are impressed by players like Leah Williamson, who is genuinely engaged in using her platform to do good. There’s a humility to Leah and that’s what people are drawn to.

“The Lionesses are very measured role models at the peak of their game, who have changed their sport and society. That’s not a bad legacy.”

And when I spoke with co-founder and director of the campaign 'Her Game Too', Amy Clement, I found myself hearing a similar sentiment.

Amy told me that she doesn’t have a WSL or Championship team yet. Instead, she is drawn to particular personalities and players from the Lioness squad, who in turn have the power to open the doors to their individual clubs and to engage young girls.

She added: “Never underestimate the power of a football role model. Look at David Beckham, Ronaldo or Messi - boys are obsessed with them. And the girls are doing that even more so in my eyes.”

She also explained that the success of the Lionesses and the growth of the women’s game, propelled by those standout personalities and role models, has led to the organisation seeing an increase in the number of grassroots teams forming and wanting to partner with them.

“It’s very obvious to us that the success of the Lionesses and the growth of the women’s game has had an impact further down in terms of grassroots and participation.”

And the attention players receive from fans isn’t just a one way street.

In fact, female players tend to engage more directly with their fan base than the men’s teams do.

Henry Winter told me: “My daughter came with me to a team GB women’s match in the Olympics and she went down pitch side to chat to the players. They are brilliant, they really engage with their fan base.”

And I have seen this myself at every women’s game I have been to. No matter the result, the players make time to go over and speak to or take selfies with the fans - something that doesn’t really translate across to the men’s game.

This, coupled with cheaper ticket prices and a more family-oriented atmosphere means that the women’s game is more accessible to and attracts a completely different fan base.

Indeed, research by Nielsen Sports shows that women's football fans are more likely than followers of the men's game to have families and to be key decision-makers when it comes to making purchases for the family.

Furthermore, there’s a burgeoning dialogue between fans and players on social media, from TikTok dances to funny fan compilations.

To see how this has filtered down to grassroots level, I spoke with Ruth Younger, the coach of Athenlay FC’s U12 girls’ team.

She said: “I asked the U12 team who their favourite player was at the start of the season, expecting most of the names I heard back to be men. But 12 out of 15 girls said their number one player was female. I was really pleasantly surprised by that.”

Indeed when I spoke to several Athenlay players, Ella Toone, Mary Earps and Alessia Russo were firm favourites, showing a societal shift towards female role models for grassroots players.

And we all remember the moment that eight-year-old Tess Dolan captured the hearts of the nation when a video of her dancing to “Sweet Caroline” as she celebrated England women's historic Euro 2022 semi-final win went viral on social media.

Dressed in full England kit she went on to say she wanted to follow in their footsteps to become a footballer, highlighting the impact the Lionesses have had as role models in encouraging young girls to engage with sport at grassroots level.

So, have the Lionesses inspired a future generation of grassroots players?

Grassroots Coach of the Year, Paul Parker of Athenlay FC, is hopeful.

“I think it will take a few years for the change to set in and to see real progress.

“If you ask the U16 team, they love football and they love playing but they don’t see this as their future career.

“But if you ask the U11 team, suddenly all of them want to be professional footballers when they grow up.

“So I think it’s going to have a gradual impact. But the foundations are there now with the younger players.”

He was right too, as the Athenlay girls of that age that I spoke to all wanted to follow their role models and become professional footballers with Arsenal and Man United being their dream clubs.

And recognition of the Lionesses' achievements continues with Mary Earps being awarded BBC Women's Footballer of the Year.

The goalkeeper is also the current favourite for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, which would make her the third woman and second Lioness in a row to secure the trophy.

So, with continued recognition and increased grassroots participation, the future looks bright.