England women qualify for football World Cup
Last night by chance I found myself watching the first half of the women’s international football match broadcast on BBC2 between Wales and England played at the Rodney Parade ground in Newport that was broadcast on BBC2 from 7.00pm onwards.
This was a World Cup group match which would effectively determine which of the two countries would be guaranteed a place at the Finals to be played in France next year. The loser might also still qualify by being amongst the ‘next best losers’ across all the qualifying groups – the only issue with this being that it would involve a significant degree of uncertainty – not to say nail-chewing anxiety – for some time ahead.
Thus, as you could imagine, there was a lot riding upon the outcome – never mind the traditional sporting rivalry between the Mother country and the Principality, this going back hundreds of years in men’s sport but now – of course – also allegedly a great concern to female sports stars of both nationalities.
That was what Gabby Logan – the coverage’s presenter – was leading the viewer to understand as she introduced proceedings pitch-side, along with one former Welsh international lady player and two English ones.
As far as I could tell – and maybe I was temporarily out of the room as they announced the names of the match commentator and his female sidekick pundit – our commentator was Jonathan Pearce, who had significantly toned down his normal over-the-top (hysterical) tone of voice for the occasion.
About twenty minutes in we were informed that the attendance had been officially given as ‘over 5,000’, a record for a Welsh female international.
At half time the score was 0-0, at which point I left the broadcast and went elsewhere.
I heard later that Phil Neville’s England team had eventually subdued their Welsh opponents with a 3-0 away victory and automatic World Cup qualification.
Good for them – and also a salute from me to an evidently committed home team who gave of their very best.
However, Rust readers will want to know my verdict upon that part of the game I watched.
To be honest – and I cannot draw the wool over your eyes here, I must be straight and direct – my comment would be this.
You can pick a transmission slot, a leading terrestrial channel and chuck at it all the high-end television production values at your disposal – and the BBC certainly did last night … but you cannot disguise the qualify of the spectacle.
Coming in to the programme – and again during the build up to the kick off as Gabby and her colleagues previewed the match and went through the standard fillers of head coach’s interviews and the players’ walks into the stadium, all the while looking focused and determined as they also listened to music on their out-sized headphones after alighting from the team bus – we were given the ‘advance build-up’ experience of sequences shot in high-definition slow-motion camerawork of players shooting for goal, collapsing into giggles during interviews, looking ‘cool’ and football-serious – all cut together in jagged-editing style with upbeat music playing in the background.
No doubt about it – we were being given a (‘par for par/equal with the men’s game’ effort) typical BBC sporting build-up to a vitally-important international match.
The only trouble was that – based upon my viewing of the first half, together with recordings of the England goals that I saw when later shown on the TV – the standard of women’s football, even at international level, is no better (and here I’m being kind to it) than that of any half-decent Under-16 boys’ game played anywhere in the United Kingdom seven days per week.
The fact is that if the BBC was broadcasting football games simply on merit – without regard to whether the participants were/are male or female, able or disabled, fully-sighted or blind – and found the wherewithal to produce their ‘all singing, all dancing’ high-definition (not forgetting the slo-mo sections) preview-trailer sequences for transmission during the coverage, they’d probably attract far bigger viewing audiences if they were to concentrate on boys’ Under-16 matches, i.e. than women’s ones.
Never mind that, the way the game is going, the football authorities are going to pay women ever-increasing professional wages for playing football (some say even to the point of equality with their male equivalents!). The inescapable logical is that, if the authorities are going to do that for women, then they ought to do it for 15 year old boys as well …
The stark bottom line – and it has been stated before upon this website – is that the standard of women’s football, even at the highest level, is not great.
The best and/or only thing that can be said about it is that it is at least being played by women – that is, if anyone (male or female) cares particularly about watching women play football.
Furthermore, the best female football players are those who [am I allowed here to use the phrase “suppress their feminine traits and …”?] play football closest to how men do.
This is why – in my view – the best female sports are those such as gymnastics, netball, basketball and field hockey because they allow girls/ladies to demonstrate their athleticism and fitness but in a uniquely female way.
