After all the waiting, the sports of the 30th Olympiad start today at 4pm with TeamGB women taking on New Zealand.  Unfortunately I’ll be at work but thats not going to stop me from watching no way!!  Thanks to SlingPlayer I can connect up to my Sky Box at home and stream it to my work PC in a window and carry on with my work at the same time – yey for Technology and an understanding boss!!

There has been much written about the standard of Womens Football in the press and online by fans of the mens game who often fall into ‘the must all be lesbians’ or ‘its a terrible standard compared to mens’ camps.  First, no not all women footballs are lesbians, but so what if some are?  It doesn’t make a difference to how they play, like it wouldn’t make a difference if a mens footballer was gay and at least they don’t have to hide the fact that they are.

Second, yes Womens football is different to Mens just like Womens Tennis is and Womens Golf is etc etc.  You have to appreciate the sport for what it is and who is playing it.  Most womens teams work on a yearly budget that is about the same as some premiership footballers get paid in a day, and most women footballers have to have other jobs in order to support playing yet they still have the drive to succeed and do it which they should only be applauded for and supported (I myself have given money to the Newcastle United Womens team who recieve NO money from the mens club but who are ‘graciously’ allowed to use the name and strip though they have to buy it themselves).

Yes, sometimes womens football looks a little less skilled even at the top level but it takes time to increase skills from the grass roots up.  The teams now are leaps and bounds over what they were 10 years ago, and that is only going to improve as more and more people play and they get more support and coverage.  Of course, if you know your history at one stage (in the early 20th century) Womens football was more popular than Mens and therefore the FA banned them from playing, so you can’t blame womens football for being ‘behind’.

So lets get behind TeamGB and womens football in general and celebrate it for itself, not try and compare it with the mens game!