We’re not talking about Tennis or hockey or rugby. The thread is about how to continue the growth of women’s football and I am making a suggestion to make the women’s game more exciting to a wider audience.
I love watching women’s tennis but it’s a different game to men’s tennis. The prize money is the same as the men’s game. they have longer rallies and they only play the best of 3 sets in grand slams where as the men play best of 5. There is recognition of the difference between the sexes and physicality in Tennis.
That recognition of the difference is missing in football. If there is a woman’s game and a men’s game being shown at the same time, I want the chance to be genuinely undecided as to which game I watch. At the moment it’s always going to be the men’s game and there in lies the problem. How do you get more people to watch women’s football. My suggestion is to make it faster and more technical by reducing the size of the pitch to suit the physicality of the women’s game.
I also love watching women’s golf which also recognises the differences in physicality by placing the women’s tees closer to the hole than the men’s tees.
There's some interesting points there.
The women's game is fighting for equality and all that comes with it, but are they making it harder for themselves by not wanting any different equipment (pitch/goals/balls) that could make it seem they have it easy?
I don't think there's any practicality in suggesting a smaller pitch, or smaller goals, due to the amount of matches that take place on what were previously men's pitches. Actually, with how the men's game has changed since the rules were created, I don't think that women should have a smaller pitch/goals anyway, just that the men's pitches should be larger. Obviously due to stadiums etc that can't happen though anyway.
But they could use a slightly different ball. Many tennis tournaments see women use a different ball. In athletics, the shot/discus/javelin are all lighter. If women used a slightly small ball, possibly slightly lighter too, would we end up getting a better spectacle because of it?
Tbh I dont think it's necessary, and this is where my viewpoint differs to yours. If City women are on one channel I'd rather watch them than just about any match that doesn't involve City men. City women v Everton women or Palace v Wolves? Not even a doubt. I'd rather watch Chelsea v Arsenal women than that match too.