South Yorkshire is once again set to be the home of football with the arrival of the 2022 European Championships.
Rotherham United’s New York Stadium and Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane are two of ten stadiums that will host games at the hotly anticipated tournament, which will be held in England for the very first time.
Co-founder of ‘Her Game Too’, and Rotherham United fan, Abbie Ackroyd claimed, “It’s a great achievement for the area and will hopefully inspire young girls in South Yorkshire to get involved with football.”
‘Her Game Too’ is an organisation run by female football fans to fight against sexism in football. The rise of female participation in football has coincided with an increase in sexism, “Football is a game for everyone but increasingly we’re seeing high amounts of sexism at football games. This is why Her Game Too exists, to highlight discrimination and hopefully educate.”
Participation in International women’s football has increased by 492% since the 1960s.
Just four matches were played in the decade which saw England’s men side win the world cup, but how has the women’s game developed since then?
The first fixture, contested by Italy and France, saw a 1-0 victory for ‘Le Azzurre’ in 1969 and this was part of a four-team tournament also involving Denmark and England in which the Italian hosts went on to win.
In comparison, 2018 saw 118 countries represented by female football teams a staggering increase in excess of 2500%.
Tournaments spanning across five continents as well as the European Qualification for the 2019 World Cup explain why there was such a high volume of games in this year.
More locally, the Sheffield Hallamshire women and girls league have welcomed 1,007 new participants in the build up to an exciting year for women’s football in the UK.
Locals will have the opportunity to see European champions, Netherlands, at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane as well as the first semi-final on the 26th of July.
Meanwhile those watching games at Rotherham United’s New York Stadium will get to see a repeat of the very first women’s fixture between Italy and France as well as a quarter final.
No wonder South Yorkshire is excited, football is well and truly coming home.
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