We must protect women's football culture, not copy-paste men's football

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I will keep it a secret. Seven weeks ago, on the weekend of the women’s Euro final, I was lying on my sunbed in a sulky mood. After my Swedish team lost the semi-finals to England, I went straight to Greece on vacation and had to stay away from social media.It’s not always easy to remember which team beat you in the semi-finals.

But I watched the final and thought it was a moment to celebrate women’s football with a sold-out crowd at Wembley and a final between the tournament’s two best teams.It’s been seven weeks since that landmark moment. , a new season has begun. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Women’s Super League develops with this summer’s momentum.

First of all, I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of customers I can attract. Arsenal have already sold 45,000 tickets for next weekend’s derby against Tottenham, which would be his WSL record. The decision to stage more matches in big stadiums means that this weekend’s matches will take place at Villa Park and King Power Stadium.

When considering how to capitalize on England’s success, one clear opportunity emerges when the Premier League and championship pause for the men’s World Cup in November. In all circumstances surrounding the Qatar World Cup, it may be refreshing for fans to watch women’s football in the meantime. We hope the FA and clubs see this opportunity and host more matches at the main stadium. Chelsea also offer another opportunity with a Champions League group game.

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We want the game to grow, but we have to maintain the special culture of women’s football. I never wanted to copy and paste men’s soccer. We never used bad behavior or violence during the match. To sum it up, it was while I was on the bus heading to Sweden’s game against Holland. I looked outside and saw a couple in orange shirts and a couple in yellow shirts holding hands. It was a cute moment that captured what women’s football is all about. Leave it alone. As captain of Chelsea, I will take action when fans misbehave. It is the player’s responsibility to show where they stand and what they accept and do not accept in terms of their culture.

It’s also worth adhering to our own standards of conduct as players. A lot of people have said to me this summer, “We enjoy watching you because you don’t roll on the ground.” I myself never dive and I tell my teammates not to, but if other teams start diving, the referees have to find out early. Hopefully the authorities will let the club know if people evaluating the game spot a pattern.

More broadly, I am encouraged that my old Chelsea teammate Karen Carney has been appointed by the government to lead a review on how to further develop the women’s game. It’s a positive step forward and it’s important to look at women’s football and not just at the top level. England’s players have been very vocal about the need to give every girl a chance at school and I would also like to see the investment in raising the standards of our academies.If we can invest properly in the next generation , imagine the quality of games in another decade.

WSL Team Guide: Chelsea

by Catherine Lucas, Me sports journalist

No team has won four consecutive WSL titles, but Chelsea are already making history with a third place finish. As expected, Emma Hayes had another summer tied to her work at the Men’s Games. It also includes a job near the house Thomas recently vacated. Tuchel.

Instead, the journey continues in Kingsmeadow. A player to watch is Reese’s sister, forward Lauren James, who recently became the first sibling to play for England. James’ rise has been swift, but the Blues also have some perfectly impressive new signings that threaten to make them even more unbeatable.

Kadeisha Buchanan and Johanna Ritting Cannelid join Chelsea this summer (Photo: Getty)

Most of all, they acquired Yves Perissette to bolster their full-back defense and let Canadian international Kadeisha Buchanan play alongside Millie Bright. Fran his Kirby was able to prove his fitness in the Euro, but then suffered another minor knock on his side.

Read Kat’s complete WSL team-by-team guide here

Moving forward, the development of the transfer market can also play a role. When she signed for Chelsea five years ago, I was one of the first Swedish players in her league to be bought out of her contract. It wasn’t a lot, but now the fees are on the rise as we saw Keira Walsh leave Manchester City for Barcelona for a world record around £400,000. Hopefully this money will start flowing to the players’ former clubs.

Finally, the importance of having truly competitive football cannot be overstated and the WSL looks stronger than ever in 2022-23. My Chelsea team played Liverpool at Prenton Park on Sunday and Canada’s Kadeisha has signed some great deals, including a new Buchanan centre-back. She’s played at the highest level for a long time and I’m very impressed with how quickly she got used to it.

For more information Women’s Super League

We are also pleased to have our compatriot Johanna Rytting Kateryd join us. She’s a proper winger who loves her one-on-one. With such a talented team, our big goal is to challenge for the Champions League. And to make amends for not making it out of the group stage last season. The competition will be tough.

Arsenal are good at recruiting and, like us, they have two international players at each position. They signed a number of contracts last winter and those players will now be settled. Man City have lost some players but have signed some exciting deals and will always be difficult to play against and without the Champions League they will be hungry and focused on domestic competition. . Manchester United will continue to improve, I think Everton and Tottenham will improve. In short, the competition is fiercer than ever, ending with the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Exciting times to come.

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