Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Last Sunday I launched a new series called “Ask Real Football Man” in which I’m throwing open the Mailbox to you and aim to answer whatever Football questions you have. The first person to contact me was a lad called Joseph Rietdyk-Johnson. Joseph is in the third year of his Sports Journalism studies at Chester University and asked if I could answer some questions regarding Women’s Football in the Media. I was more than happy to help, so here is a quick Q&A between myself and Joseph.
To what extent do you want your gender to play a role in the coverage of women’s football?
If you mean what role should Men play in the coverage of Women’s Football, then they have as much as a part to play as if the roles were opposite. Otherwise you wouldn’t have figures as Gabby Logan or Lindsey Hipgrave fronting coverage of Men’s Football
How passionate are you about the women’s game?
Without being misogynistic, I have very little interest in the Women’s game. Perhaps if my team Tottenham had a better ladies side then my interest would increase slightly but I can’t say I look out for any results of any Women’s side
Why do you believe the men’s game enjoys much superior coverage compared to the women’s game?
Been established for lot longer, more money and sponsorship involved in the Men’s game and there is no doubt still an undercurrent of sexism when it comes to the coverage of Women’s Football.
What more do you believe can be done to promote the women’s game more effectively so more people take notice of it?
I think they are going about the right way with the creation of the Women’s Super League and the TV coverage deals but I think they have to be careful not to force the issue too much. There was a bit of overkill in my opinion during their World Cup and I don’t like the BBC’s use of clickbait headlines such as “Chelsea sign England International”. I appreciate that the BBC are trying to highlight what is still a minority sport but there was a bit of a backlash for this over the Summer.
What do you see happening with blogging for women’s football that isn’t happening in the press?
Blogging is a lot less restricted so anyone with an idea and the passion to do so can start blogging, if their passion is Women’s Football then there’s nothing stopping them from starting a blog and voicing their opinions. The more people who do this then the better for the Women’s game.
What do you think of other blogs on the internet that focus on the subject of women’s football?
I know of Women who blog about Football but I’ve never actually seen a Women’s Football blog. The fact that Women are blogging about the Men’s game says it all
What challenges does women’s football face in order to become more noticeable like the men’s game in the press?
Does a Women’s Football story sell papers? No it doesn’t. Their isn’t that tribalism of fandom that the Men’s game has. Women’s Football will always have a struggle to get parity with the Men’s game and to be honest the two will never be the same, but that’s not to be said that it can’t get it’s own foothold. But it needs to highlight it’s own strengths and not be constantly compared with their male counterparts.
As someone who blogs about men’s football, would the idea of writing an article about an issue that concerns the women’s game be of any interest to you and why?
No that wouldn’t be of interest of me because I don’t know enough about the topic. One of the key rules of blogging is right about what you know. So I wouldn’t feel like I could be put out a good enough blog post for this to happen.
How do you see the future of women’s football blogging panning out?
It will always have a future as there will always be fans of the game. It might get more popular but that depends on the quality of the blogs themselves. Extra quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quality. Maybe if Women’s Football had one discerning voice then that would aid the game further then lots of smaller ones.
So there you have my views on how the Women’s game is portrayed. If you don’t agree or would like to add to this then Joseph is looking for more contributors for his studies and can be contacted at this e-mail address – 1317658@chester.ac.uk
If anyone else has any Football based questionnaires as part of any University Studies and are looking for some assistance then feel free to get in touch with me and if anyone has anything else to “Ask Real Football Man” then fire over an e-mail to realfootballmanwordpress@gmail.com
I look forward to seeing what’s in the mailbox and the next edition of the series. Keep those questions coming
Dan
Real Football Man
