Despite being defeated by Spain in Sunday's Women's World Cup Final, Millie Bright, captain of the Lionesses, said after the match “this isn’t the end of the journey and we will definitely bounce back.”
The team is understandably “absolutely heartbroken” but for us women watching from the sidelines, this has been one helluva journey. In fact, this weekend has gone down in history. It was the first time the England men’s or women’s team have reached a football World Cup final since 1966 and the nation came to a halt for the historic occasion. According to data from Google Trends, searches for 'football lessons' in the United Kingdom skyrocketed 2,009% after the Lionesses made it into the World Cup final showing the cultural effect its already having across the country.
They’re living the dreams that women have had for decades, but never had the chance to fulfil.
We know there's so much still to do - particularly in women's sport which relies so heavily on actually winning to be given a chance. As Chloe Kelly quite rightly said in her cover interview with GLAMOUR: “I think women have to be excellent to be taken seriously.”
The FA says its committed to “inspiring positive change' and by 2024 it's eight-point manifesto includes giving every primary school-aged girl equal access to football in school and in clubs, better collaboration with clubs and training for female referees. The UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) also reports that after the Lionesses success in the 2022 Euros, “2.4m more women and girls in England are participating in football in 2022-23, compared to the prior season.”
During the Euro 2022 final Gabby Logan offered a stark, albeit buoyant, prediction: “The Lionesses have brought football home; now it’s down to the rest of us to make sure it stays here. You think it’s all over? It’s only just begun.”
She wasn't wrong. After losing out 1-0 to Spain this weekend, Bright said, “The mentality has always been there. The character has been there, too. We show that, day in, day out, and in every game. We’ve just played in a World Cup final, it’s hard to see it like that at the moment. I’m proud of the girls.”
So what's next for the Lionesses? We’ve put together a guide on how to support and watch women’s football — plus how to get involved in the sport yourself.
How to watch the Lionesses
Nations League
Luckily for us, the Lionesses reunite again for September's Nations League matches - the inaugural season of the three-league tournament which will follow a similar format to the men's event.
England are in League A, which has four groups. The World Cup runners-up take on Scotland (22 September at Sunderland's Stadium of Light), the Netherlands (26 September) next month, while Belgium complete their group. Tickets are still available - you can nab England vs Scotland match tickets for £20 from Wembley's official website.
The teams play each other home and away, with the standings at the end of the stage determining promotion and relegation between the leagues, as well as qualification for the Women's Nations League finals.
The four group winners in League A meet in the semi-finals, with the two finalists joining hosts France as the European representatives in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Nations League will also affect qualification for Euro 2025, which will be held in Switzerland.
Are boys not allowed to watch and enjoy women’s football? Is it deemed beneath them? Just for the girls?
Women's Super League
After returning from international duty, a number of the Lionesses will be back in action in the Women's Super League, which kicks off again on 1 October.
In 2021, FA announced in March it had signed a “landmark” £8m deal with Sky Sports and the BBC for the broadcast rights to the Women’s Super League, the biggest broadcast deal of any professional women’s football league in the world. The deal runs until 2024 so we're hoping, after last year's Euro success with record viewing figures and this year's World Cup semi-final bringing in 4.6 million viewers, we'll see another big broadcasting deal announced next year.
Tickets for individual matches are available on the official club websites. Buy tickets here.
Find a football club to join near you
In the last five years a plethora of women’s teams have popped up across the UK. There's a section of TheFA.com dedicated to helping Women and Girls participate in football - be that as a player, coach, referee or volunteer. Whether it's just a casual game or if you want to join a club, you can find your local football details here.
