Add The Hundred to your watchlist
Sitting on our team bus travelling to the final of the T20 Women’s World Cup at Lord’s, I was full of expectation. It was 2009 and we’d just won the Women’s One-Day International World Cup in Australia. For the first time, England women became world champions playing away from home – one of our most important achievements.
I expected fans would come out and support us, a successful England team playing in a World Cup final – a final we would go on to win. But as we drove past yet another London pub advertising the men’s final instead of our match, I realised just how far we still had to go.
Fast-forward to today and women’s cricket has, thankfully, undergone a transformation. There are record attendances, global television audiences, professional domestic competitions, greater investment and players on billboards at Piccadilly Circus.
Barriers have come down in women’s sport. Women’s tennis has returned to Queen’s Club after 52 years. The Lionesses with their Euros wins in 2022 and 2025 and the Red Roses winning the World Cup for a third time last year have inspired young girls to believe that elite sport can be part of their future.
Despite this progress, the environment girls experience in sport still isn’t equal. Too often they don’t enjoy the same access as boys to quality facilities, coaching and competitive opportunities. But it’s about more than resources – the culture around girls’ sport is just as important. Girls still face stereotypes about what sports are “for girls” and often play in environments where they don’t feel welcomed or listened to. Girls are likely to stay involved if they feel they belong, are encouraged to make mistakes, and judged on their effort and development. If the environment is focused on winning, dismissive of girls’ experiences, or doesn’t take confidence, body image or puberty into account, many will simply stop participating.
Creating better environments for girls isn’t just about investing more money. It’s about building cultures where girls feel safe, respected and able to thrive.
The system needs to keep pace with that change. We mustn’t treat girls as one homogeneous group – a girl’s ethnicity, faith, disability, socioeconomic background or where she lives can all shape the barriers she faces.
In recent years, we’ve seen progress in many diverse communities, with attitudes towards girls playing sport shifting, and more families encouraging their daughters to get involved.
We need to invest in coaches and leaders who reflect the communities they serve but also educate those who aren’t part of that community, making clubs more accessible and affordable, providing facilities and sessions that work for different cultural and religious needs. Girls from underrepresented communities need to be involved in shaping programmes designed for them.
My call today is that we build on the progress that has been made, not through empty words but through consistent action. Taking part in sport shouldn’t be an aspiration, but an expectation.
Sport remains one of the few forms of entertainment people consistently watch live, yet every sport is competing for relevance in a rapidly changing world. Bringing women into the spotlight creates new audiences, fans and opportunities. The sports that recognise this and embrace it will be the ones that continue to grow and thrive.
Hence then, the article about it s not just about access was published today ( ) and is available on Radio Times ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( It's not just about access )
Also on site :
- Second PIC/S GMP Certification .. Mabwell Passes Brazilian GMP Inspection for Its Denosumab Injections
- Safe2Core Miami Highlights Concrete Scanning, GPR, Concrete Coring and Utility Locating Services Across Florida
- House Of The Dragon Finale: [Spoiler]'s Death 'Condemns Rhaenyra To The Path She's Chosen,' Emma D'Arcy Says