'Prince William snubbing Lionesses was an own goal - he should've been there'
He should have been there. No excuses. The minute England’s Women set up a World Cup Final date with Spain, Prince William should have jumped on a plane to Australia.
As grumpy football pundit Roy Keane would put it: ‘That’s your job’.
In fact, as President of the Football Association, it is pretty much your only job. Yes, there are other related duties but on this you can’t phone or video call it in.
With tone deaf Gianni Infantino, boss of world football governing body FIFA, claiming women demanding equality should “pick the right battles”, and Spanish FA boss Luis Rubiales pictured grabbing his crotch one minute and kissing striker Jennifer Hermoso on the lips the next - any sexual motivation was denied by the player - it hasn’t been a good week for Presidents in football.
As for William, he’s found himself under fire for sending out all the wrong messages with his no-show at the greatest show on earth as far as England’s women are concerned.
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His cheerleading message - while he enjoys his annual summer break - doesn’t cut it. Private messages to team members throughout the tournament don’t cut it.
And you can bet your boots that, had Harry Kane led England’s men to the World Cup Final against Spain, Prince William would have been there faster than grit off a shovel.
The well-established men’s game doesn’t need his visibility. The still-evolving women’s game - still seeking to be taken as seriously as the men’s - does. That’s why it matters.
The cash-rich men’s game doesn’t need the commercial validation of the highest-profile figurehead in this country getting behind it. The women’s game does.
So if neither William nor Prime Minister Rishi Sunak can see fit to make it to the biggest women’s football match on the planet, how can they convince anyone else to prioritise it?
If Spain’s Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter could be there to express their country’s commitment to national football, why couldn’t William?
If Letizia’s people could see the need to make her aware and get her out there in good time, why couldn’t William’s?
As soon as England’s women even qualified for the tournament, there should have been a massive red circle around Sunday, August 20 as a potentially unmissable date.
It isn’t as if the Lionesses’ journey hasn’t been dominating the news agenda, splashed across every front page, all over our TV screens, on the radio and social media.
Or that William and his office hadn’t had fair warning as Sarina Wiegman’s team scythed their way through the tournament. Momentum has built steadily with victories against Denmark and China before that dramatic penalty win over Nigeria, that quarter-final, come-from-behind win over Colombia and that hard-fought semi-final success against Australia.
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And let’s not kid ourselves, before England men went out of the World Cup against France in Qatar, William’s office actually were looking at possible arrangements for him to attend if they reached the final.
Kensington Palace hurriedly briefed out “reasons” why he couldn’t make it. Among them - wait for it - the carbon footprint, as he is travelling to the US next month to support a green campaign.
But nobody could have criticised him for jetting out to back the Lionesses.
The Palace were also claiming William couldn’t go to Australia because his father Charles hadn’t yet gone there as King.
As excuses go, that one is right up there with “the dog ate my homework”.
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