What makes soccer a man's game?? !!

I grew up in late 60's / early 70's Britain when football was king and my dreams were just like any of the other kids who lived on my street. I was going to play professionally for Chesterfield FC and then after leading them to the 3rd Division Championship I would be transferred to the mighty Leeds United where I would go on to win First Division Championships with the best team in Europe.

Unfortunately there was a bit of a problem, some-one neglected to tell me that football is a boys game and girls can't play




Since that time I've wracked my brains to try to figure out just what it is that makes football a man's game:

Perhaps it could be the incredibly complicated objective of the game,  defend your own goal and attack your opponents goal, it's simply too much to ask of the delicate female brain!!
But then maybe not, as netball and field hockey both have the same basic premise and neither of these are men's games.


Maybe it's the laws of the game, there are 17 of them after all and it is a well know fact that when it comes to Law XI (the rule of offside) women have no clue whatsoever!!
Then again maybe the men don't fully understand it neither, given the number of disputed decisions and passionate TV and media debates.

I suppose I should also mention the incredibly difficult techniques that have to be mastered in order to play the game, perhaps because these are such difficult movements a woman can never hope to play the game properly!!
However, having said that I have always marveled when you give a toddler of either gender a ball their first instinct is to kick it because this is the easiest way to make it move. There's also the simple fact that playing with a ball is an incredibly fun thing to do, you just have to watch their faces. I would dare to suggest that anyone who plays the game never grows out of this.


Basically in any sensible world there is no rational reason  to continue to accept the notion that football is a man's game. Instead we should think of it as the People's game, fun to play, absorbing to watch and suitable for all. Then when our children dream of their future we should encourage them to be whatever they want to be and if that means a young girl on a suburban street wants to be a professional footballer then so be it......

Dare her to dream, encourage her to practice and give her every opportunity to succeed.


Thank you for reading and perhaps you'll come back again soon, better still I hope you'll be interested enough leave me your comments and opinions

Take care, till next time