The Manageress, Episode 1: ‘A Man’s Game’ Opening scene: European Cup final, Hampden Park, May 18th,1960 – “The great Real Madrid are one goal to nil down to Eintracht Frankfurt…”
A young girl stands mesmerised on the terrace with her father as Puskás goes about painting his masterpiece. The Hungarian scores four, Alfredo di Stefano a hat-trick and Real win 7-3 victory in front 127,000 spectators!
Unattainable dreams from a make-believe world.
When I was growing up and dreaming of becoming a footballer, I never saw any women’s football on TV. I never even saw a woman inside the game. Then, in 1989, ‘The Manageress’ was aired on Channel 4. It was a series about ‘Gabriella Benson’ (played by Cherie Lunghi) who became manager of a second-tier men’s team in England.
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To this day, a whopping 33 years later, that scenario still hasn’t happened in real life, yet the impact of seeing that programme when I was 12 had a lasting impact on my life.
Just over a week into the women’s European Championships and it’s already one of the most exciting Euros ever. There have been some shocks, mostly notably England’s 8-0 annihilation of Norway, who were seen by many as title contenders.
France’s dismantling of Italy in the first half of their encounter was also one that we didn’t see coming, but in general the tournament has been really competitive with teams showing a distinct preference for attack.
In case I put the mockers on it, at the time of writing, there hasn’t been a 0-0 draw and there really has been some quality games with some world-class players on show. The matches are very tactical, as they tend to be in women’s football, so the full coverage on RTÉ means that every game is dissected and I don’t think the value of this can be underestimated.
Nowadays, there are great opportunities for girls to play the sports they love, and they can watch the women who are at the top of the game, playing at the Euros from the comfort of their own front rooms.
It’s an important milestone and will have a lasting impact.
The “Skin in the Game” campaign, which involves members of the Republic of Ireland under-17 and under-19 squads, is a clever reinforcement of that message. Girls can finally see what makes the best female players in Europe brilliant and they can aspire to it with real-life imagery, as opposed to a fictional television show from the late 80s.
They can watch the movement of England striker Ellen White and how she gets around and between opposition centre backs. They can marvel at the two-footed trickery of Portugal’s Jessica Silva. They can absorb how Netherlands midfielder Sherida Spitse controls a game from midfield. They can learn the art of central defending from Spain’s Irene Paredes.
No matter what position they play, it’s all there, in all its colourful glory for them to ingest.
And despite it only being the group stages, the tournament has already asked significant questions of decision-makers in women’s football regarding things that should have been asked and answered long before now.
England winger Beth Mead has challenged why women should have to wear white shorts, particularly during their period. After she said it, it seems so obvious to the world that it makes no sense and that it should be changed. The bigger question is why has it taken so long, but here we are in 2022 dropping pennies that should have landed a long time ago.
The tournament being broadcast on the scale that it is gives reach that matters and it’s proving educational for many, who only ever saw it as being a lesser version of the men’s game.
The truth is, it’s just football and it’s played by women and men.
It highlights the importance of not comparing women’s games to men’s games, or benchmarking female performance against that of males because they are entirely different entities.
Finally, it seems this tournament will justify the case and logic for this and is generating an understanding of the why.
In many respects, the tournament will be another game-changer. The joyous privilege afforded to men who grew up inspired by the Maradona’s and Pele’s, regardless of whether or not Ireland had qualified for the tournament, is now being afforded to girls.
It’s another equality achieved. Girls will still be inspired by the Messi’s and Ronaldo’s of modern times but how much better is it that they can be inspired by the Lauren Hemps and Vivianne Miedemas too?
I was fortunate enough to be at the tournament opener between England and Austria at a sold-out Old Trafford. Over 68,000 people were there and the atmosphere was electric. Millions watched on TV around the world.
Imagine that game being the first match you went to as a young girl or a game you saw on TV. Imagine how much bigger the dreams you could conjure as a result of that experience, rather than being inspired by The Manageress on Channel 4?
Gabriella Benson was the business, by the way, but she was make-believe. These Euros are for real. The difference is enormous.
