It’s a scandal that Manchester United don’t have a women’s team. For a club that claims to have the largest female fanbase in the world, a pioneer of the game, it is shameful that in the last 20 or so years they have not established a team for female professionals.
The 2015 World Cup saw England go on their best run in half a century while the USA set a new gold standard of excellence, hammering the defending champions (Japan), and this raised further questions as to why United were not pursuing a women’s team.
At the turn of the millennium United had women’s team but it was dropped after six years because the Glazers decided it wasn’t commercially viable. Then, during David Moyes’ brief reign as manager, the idea floated again since it was he who was a central figure in introducing a women’s team at Everton.
But less than a year into his six-year contract, Moyes was stewarded out and the idea sadly hit another stumbling block.
A statement was published on Wednesday night with United announcing they had applied to have a professional women’s team, and it has been met with a mixture of cynicism and relief by many fans.
Most fans will be glad the club has moved out of the dark ages after years of dithering, excuses and ignoring the growing clamour for the world’s biggest football club to have a side that represents a large proportion of earth.
Following the announcement, Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: “[The women’s team] must be built in the same image and with the same principles as the men’s first team.”
That said, I hope none of the female players are ridiculed by their manager for being overweight.
United’s women’s team is expected to take part in the WSL Championship, the second tier of women’s football, with a set objective to gain promotion. They will be based at the Cliff training ground in Salford which is full of history given that’s where the first-team trained until the opening of Carrington Training Complex.
Prior to this announcement, it was argued that girls, like boys, run in the famous red shirt and proudly proclaim themselves a Manchester United player. It’s long overdue.
Moreover, the thought that it wouldn’t be financially viable is ludicrous, as England and Chelsea striker Eni Aluko says “it does so much for the club’s public relations.” The profile of the women’s game is growing and the introduction of Manchester United would generate an increase in participation and crowd numbers.
The biggest club in England should be promoting football for boys and girls to create a greater sense of equality in the sport. However, it is unrealistic to expect that in a total sense.
For instance, equal pay is a topic of conversation regardless of profession. When discussing football the quality is neither here nor there because the reason men’s teams get paid more is due to thousands of fans watching them play every week, and that has been the case for decades. The interest leads to TV deals, big sponsorships, and more recently, Sugar Daddy type owners bankrolling clubs.
If women’s teams start attracting significant gate receipts, then their wages will start to reflect it.
