Ex-Notts County goalkeeper says there's still a long way to go to get gender equality in football
Stats show a fifth of people in Nottingham believe the community doesn’t support the women’s game
Last updated 26th Sep 2024
A former Lioness and Notts County goalkeeper has said there's still a long way to get gender equality in football.
Carly Telford’s view is shared by more than a fifth of people in Nottingham who believe the community doesn’t support the women’s game, according to a new survey.
Despite a surge in participation and more coverage of the elites, new research by Sure, found women are still spending an average of £124-pound a year to play.
The Research found that 78% of female footballers agree that opportunities for women in their local football league are still far behind those available for men.
It also found that 43% of female footballers struggle to get a referee for matches.
4.4 million women and girls are now regularly playing football across the UK but 4 in 10 female footballers surveyed do not have access to their own pitch.
Carly Telford, former Lioness and Notts County goalkeeper, said: “All of the lionesses started at the grassroots level."
“We were all that young girl whose parents took us in the cold and wind, but you got to find that space to start your journey.
“I remember playing for Sunderland and the staff had to clean dog poo off the pitch before we played on it.
“I want to think those things don’t happen anymore and the opportunities are much greater but there is still so far for us to go.
“We didn’t have those sorts of role models which is incredibly sad but now young girls do and that's huge.
“We used that have a saying; if you can see it, you can be it."
“Having those kinds of women playing on TV, small things that when growing up we didn’t have, it allows young girls to dream and believe.
“Access to local pitches and women to feel safe in spaces and young girls to feel themselves and experience the beautiful game that is football.
“Not everyone is going to be able to achieve being a lioness so how are we championing those women who aren’t lionesses and won't make it.
“They all have their own stories and are we telling them because there’s a huge percentage of those women who will go on just to do that and it's important that we champion those as well.”