Episode 15: The UEFA European Women’s Championship – “Women’s Football Confuses Men”

It’s a story almost as old as football itself: women start playing. People notice. They’re good - really good. Crowds grow, praise swells, more girls join in… and just as momentum builds, the men in suits step in.

With furrowed brows and dubious “health concerns”, they declare the game unfit for women - too rough, too unfeminine, too dangerous for their supposedly fragile reproductive systems. Too improper a spectacle for men to have to endure.

Rinse. Repeat.

It’s a maddening cycle that’s haunted women’s football for over a century: visibility, popularity… then paternalistic backlash. But through it all, the women kept going - not waiting for permission, not playing for praise, but for the pure, unstoppable joy of playing the game.

In Germany, they played hundreds of unofficial internationals and even hosted full blown European tournaments - all while the DFB officially banned the sport. In Italy, enthusiasm clashed with conservatism both at home and with UEFA. Meanwhile, in more egalitarian societies like those in Scandinavia, women’s football wasn’t sidelined - it was supported. And success followed. Funny that.

And then there’s England - slow to change, late to back the women’s game, left trailing rivals. But when talent finally met investment, a generation rose. With the right leadership, they took the game to stratospheric heights - and in 2022, the Lionesses did what no English senior team had done in over half a century: they won a major tournament. The result? An explosion of girls taking up the game, inspired by players who once had to fight just to be seen. Good times never seemed so good...

Because this isn’t just a story of struggle - it’s one of momentum. Those girls falling in love with football today? They’re tomorrow’s players, coaches, leaders, and decision-makers.

Once again, women are playing. Once again, the crowds are growing. But this time, the cycle might finally be broken. The opposition isn’t as loud, and is much easier to ignore. The support is stronger. And the game is rising.

The growth of women’s football isn’t done.

It’s only just getting started.