ABSTRACT
In this chapter I investigate the experiences of women and young girls in football. The analysis begins with a brief examination of women’s involvement in football in Britain over the last century in an attempt to set a clear context for the struggle behind acceptance of their place within the nation’s most popular sport. The main focus of the chapter is on the experiences of the women and girls who took part in the FA Child Protection (CP) research project between 2002 and 2003. Data were gathered from 134 interviews (over two years) with women who either play football, are parents of girls in football, or who coach and administer the women’s game. Through examining the voices and behaviour of these women there is a clear sense that what they have experienced covers the spectrum of joy at playing football, through to frustration at the sexist treatment by some male coaches and the lack of funding and support from the FA organization. It is also important at this point to highlight that the data are interpreted from a social constructionist perspective which privileges the meanings and actions of the individuals concerned over other forms of interpretation.
