"It can bind and loose, make or mar, suppress or exaltSpeak highly of someone or something. , and it controls not only the game, the clubs, the officials, and the players, but the crowd too - and even the crowd fears it. This augustThe eight month of the year. It also means "respected" or "impressive". body has decreed that women's football is undesirable. It is a game 'not fitted for females.'"

This is how one newspaper responded to the FAThe Football Association is the governing body of football in England and the Channel Islands. It was founded in 1863.'s decision to ban women from playing on their grounds in 1921. 

A little more than a century later, and women's football is back. 2023's Women's World Cup is set to be the biggest in history, rivalling the popularity of the men's tournament.

The audience is expected to surpass two billion - the largest audience in history for a single women's sport.

But it draws attention to an uncomfortable historic reality: the gap in popularity between men and women's sports. Women's sports attract smaller crowds, less funding, fewer opportunities, fewer accoladesAwards or strong praise. .

Some say that physical limitations make sports less interesting when played by women; others say there is just no way of making them commercially successful. For others, both of these "reasons" are plain misogynyHatred of or discrimination against women. The term comes from the Ancient Greek "miso", meaning "hate", and "gyne", "woman"..

After all, there was a time when women's football was even more popular than men's. During World War One, female factory workers set up factory football teams and their popularity far surpassed what anyone had expected.

One historic women's football game attracted almost 70,000 would-be spectatorsPeople who watch something. in 1920. This level of attendance would not be matched for another 92 years.

Shortly after, women's football became a victim of its own success. In 1921, fearful that women's teams were rapidly overshadowing the men's, the FA banned women's football. The ban would be in place for 51 years.

Recently, things have been looking up for women's sports. The gender pay gap has narrowed, and more and more people every year tune into women's tournaments.

Some say the bar is too low. Women in the 2023 World Cup are still expected to make just 25 cents for every dollar earned by men at last year's World Cup.¹ And they will still make cumulativelyIncreasing in size or quantity. Or, taken as a whole. over £250m less than men did in the 2022 World Cup.²

Social attitudes towards women in sports are surely less discriminatory than they have been - and clearly efforts are being made to expand participation. But whether the gender balance in sport can be described as equal is another question entirely.

Yes: Women's sports are making waves, attracting crowds and allowing female athletes to claim the accolades they are owed.

No: Clearly we still have a long way to go. It is not just a problem of salaries and opportunities, but also social attitudes, which are deeply ingrainedSomething that has existed for a long time and is very hard to change. .

Or... For as long as male sports attract more viewers, male sportsmen will be worth more money. It is not necessarily a sign of inequality that women still earn less - just an economic response to social conditions.