Let’s All Remember What England’s Women’s Team Are Really There For

Because we all know that top performing female athletes are no more than their relationships to men and children, right?

Let's All Remember What England's Women's Team Are Really There For

by Sophie Wilkinson |
Published on

The England women's team come a respectable third in the World Cup, getting further than the England men's team have since 1966. So they're rightfully being called Heroes, or #Heroes on the internet. But then someone from the FA's official account (@england) tweeted this, which has since been deleted:

england_football_team

Because, of course, no matter a woman's achievements, she will always be defined by her relationship to her children, partners and parents. Even if her ability to play international football is questionable because she doesn't get much money playing for her normal team and so, unlike any male footballer, has to scrimp and save to take weeks off of work to go and represent her country. Even if she has a job or a mortgage or mates or a history of people going 'Football? You're mad!' or an impossible record for coming back from injury. Even if she gets to the World Cup and makes it to become part of the third best women's football team in the world, she will always be part of a cog in a machine that says that women are first and foremost mothers, wives and children. Well, at least according to whoever sent that tweet out.

Meanwhile, some people are upset by the tweet because you apparently shouldn't call England's footballers 'heroes' just for reaching third place in an international tournament. May they lurch out of their mother's basement where they type about the injustices they face with one finger at a time and be swiftly guided to face the wall as everyone else kicks footballs at their stupid bums.

Because the England women's football team's successes aren't just being celebrated because they're women, it's simply because they've reached further in the tournament than they ever have done before AND have managed to do better than any English men's team for 49 years. Maybe it's worth the social media people at the FA trying to get their heads around that.

Like this? You might also be interested in:

Football's Biggest Bigwig To Miss Women's World Cup Final

Forget The Men. The England Women's Football Team Actually Win Games

Lionesses Lose World Cup Semi In Last Minute And Everyone's Gutted

Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

Just so you know, we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website - read why you should trust us