Women’s game flourishing in Europe

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This article was published 08/06/2019 (2659 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There is a power shift underway in women’s soccer, the evidence of which will likely be revealed during the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup. Money, not surprisingly, is the driver; Europe, perhaps even less surprisingly, stands to be the winner.

It is to the major leagues of Europe, with ever-increasing frequency, that many of the top stars of the women’s game are moving to play professionally. They’re doing it for the same reasons as their male counterparts. The wages are often better, the soccer culture is immersive and the facilities are of a quality that will aid development.

“If you are an American player, I would think you would want to play at the highest level, and you have the Champions League here in Europe,” remarked reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg in a 2017 interview with Reuters. “The game is growing in Europe and it is going to be exciting in the next few years to see what happens.”

For the high-profile members of the much-vaunted United States women’s soccer team, Hegerberg’s words are something of a sting. Although some, including Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan, have played briefly in Europe on temporary contracts, most American players remain tied to the U.S.-based National Women’s Soccer league. And they risk being left behind. While the popular thinking of several years ago had women’s club soccer establishing its primary home on these shores, it’s across the Atlantic where it’s thriving.

The shift was inevitable, really.

As soon as some of the biggest European leagues and clubs began forming and resourcing women’s teams, and mobilizing the continent’s significant participation numbers, they were always going to be the top destinations for the world’s best players. Initially, as Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has conceded, they did it for PR and image reasons — a sort of investment toward a club’s brand as a whole. But more recently, France’s powerful Division 1 Féminine (in which Lyon are the dominant side), Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga (where Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich battled for the title last season) and England’s Women’s Super League (which featured a top three of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea) have been further strengthened because it just makes sense, both economically and socially.

Earlier this year, for example, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona played before a record crowd of more than 60,000. In an interview with the Equalizer earlier last season, Spanish women’s club soccer director Pedro Malabia said his country has been intentional about using the power of men’s clubs to raise the profile of the women’s game to “the place it should have always been.” They’re doing it because they want to see how women’s soccer can flourish with more attention from broadcasters and revenue from sponsors.

“It takes some investment, but I think long-term, it’s going to give back,” former Denmark international Nadia Nadim told AFP in April. “For example, in Denmark, more girls play football than boys, so financially, I think it’s the right move to make.”

UEFA, the body that oversees soccer in Europe, has jumped on the bandwagon. Ahead of this World Cup, it released its first-ever comprehensive strategy for women’s soccer.

Called “Time for Action,” it will seek to double the number of women and girls playing soccer by 2024, double administrative representation of women in its own organization and change the perceptions of women’s soccer in Europe.

“This strategy will champion, innovate and accelerate women’s football for all so that every woman and girl can have a love for football, whether as a player, coach, referee, administrator or fan,” said Nadine Kessler, UEFA’s head of women’s soccer and a two-time Bundesliga winner with Wolfsburg. “Women’s football is football, and football has a huge ability to impact beyond the field of play and break down cultural and social barriers.”

So what does Europe’s heightened investment in women’s soccer mean for the next few weeks in France?

For starters, it wouldn’t be at all astonishing if three or even four of the semifinalists end up being European teams. And the final could well be just the fourth of 13 major finals (World Cup and Olympic Games) to be all-European. That the third was at the last Olympics provides even more indication that the shift is already well underway. The United States, for their part, will struggle for a place on the podium.

Canada, meanwhile, has a considerable European contingent. Kadeisha Buchanan has become one of the best defenders in the world at Lyon, where she has won two titles and two Champions Leagues, while Janine Beckie and Adriana Leon represent ManchesterCity and West Ham, respectively. Eighteen-year-old Jordyn Huitema, a rising star, is a new Paris Saint-Germain recruit. This country’s players are adapting reasonably well to the Eurocentric reality — something that should stand them in good stead at the World Cup.

Of course, it would be even more beneficial to have a more robust club game here at home, whether cross-border or in Canada exclusively. National team captain Christine Sinclair has advocated for the latter, and one can see her playing a leading role in such an endeavour when she retires from playing. At the moment, however, the reality is that women’s club soccer is strongest by far in Europe, the fallout of which will almost certainly affect this World Cup.

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