'A reminder to Gianni Infantino - you've clearly not been paying attention'

19 August 2023 , 08:00

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"With men, with FIFA, you will find open doors. Just push the doors."

Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president there, 72 hours before the 2023 Women’s World Cup Final. The biggest ever Women’s World Cup to date.

It’s almost like women haven’t been fighting for equality for decades, battling to be in the boardrooms, on the pitch, for the same pay and the same rights - while in the Lionesses’ case, bettering the achievements of their male counterparts. You sense my sarcasm.

Infantino has some nerve telling women to push doors open to opportunities when we have been smashing them down with brute force for generations. But oh wait, he might not have known much about that, seeing as he’s even left this tournament after just two weeks.

This has all come from a man who tells the world he has four daughters, he doesn’t seem to have much of a clue on the battles women face to climb their way just to experience equal opportunities. Unbelievable.

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"And I say to all the women - and you know I have four daughters, so I have a few at home - that you have the power to change,” he said. “Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights.

"You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don't have to do. You do it. Just do it."

"With men, with FIFA, you will find open doors. Just push the doors," he added.

Let me tell you something, Mr Infantino. We don’t need permission - and we certainly don’t need you to tell us what battles to fight. The sheer volume of support across the entire world proves these female footballers have already knocked that door you speak of right off its hinges.

Millions of young girls across the globe are now playing football, because they know they can. Because they’ve seen women, who look just like they do, on the world stage, competing for the greatest prize in international football. The next generation of our nations’ teams are already lacing up their boots - and funnily enough, they didn’t need you to tell them.

For so many years, women have spent too long fighting in silence among ourselves. To be heard, to be seen, to be listened to.

Women have been fighting for equal rights since 1918 when women were given the right to vote. In 1964, we were only given the right to be partially financially independent. In relative sport terms, the first ‘professional’ women’s side and players were formed through a factory-based team - at the time called Dick, Kerr & Co. playing 800 games, and winning 746 of them, from 1917 right through to 1965, being paid 10 shillings (50p) to cover their expenses.

By 1921 there were around 150 women’s football clubs across the UK, reaching up to 45,000 fans at spectator events. The future of the women’s game looked bright. Until the factories closed down and women were sent back to domestic roles. Even with the amount of women’s clubs around, the FA met at its headquarters in London and announced a ban on the women’s game in that very same year. The ban stopped women playing at the professional grounds and pitches of clubs affiliated to The FA, stating “the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.”

50 years later - the generation who set the scene for our Lionesses today took to the women’s football stage and created a legacy never to be forgotten. The Lionesses of the 1970s are the women who remain a force to be reckoned with, they are the trailblazers, the inspiration, the guiding light for those English footballers who will step out onto the pitch at Stadium Australia and throw their heart and soul into playing for their country.

It’s our time now. The world is watching. The world is listening. Every single generation can now enjoy watching football, playing football and being involved in football - and we don’t need any permission or to convince any man what we’re capable of. The doors are wide open, Mr Infantino. So don’t expect us to knock first.