A campaign aimed at eliminating sexism in football has been launched in the United Kingdom. The HerGameToo movement aims to be the catalyst for positive change in the game. After being founded by twelve passionate, female football fans, the movement is driven using the same ideology initially used when founding a non-profit organisation, which follows elements of support, empowerment, and progress. The founding members of the campaign are committed to growing the movement with the aim of fostering an ethos in football in which women are welcomed and respected equally.

The founding members of the campaign will already have strong links with many different clubs around the country which helps make them recognisable figures who have the knowledge and experience to lead such a campaign. This helps push it forward and spread the message further.

The movement is striving to fulfill a number of aims in order to create a society that is more diverse in its nature and enables women to be treated at an equal level to men. They should not be excluded from any activity just because they are female. There are many people in society who believe that a woman’s place is in the kitchen and shouldn’t be able to participate in many of the activities that are seen to be male-dominated. These views are completely outdated as women have an equal place in society along side men and shouldn’t be isolated or left out from any particular activity.

When playing a sport, children are socialised into thinking that certain sports are for boys and certain sports are for girls. This is mainly done through their education and schooling as in PE lessons, boys are able to play sports like football and rugby whereas girls are pushed into playing sports such as netball and hockey. This is done throughout most schools and makes them believe that they should only be able to play certain sports throughout their lives. This sexist attitude is reinforced by the media as different programmes follow this ideology to suit their target audience.

The HerGameToo campaign is attempting to work to change these beliefs in order to make sports including football a safe and secure place in which girls and women can compete alongside their male counterparts should they choose to. The work they are doing hopes to achieve a number of aims in which they will change the values and beliefs throughout society. These aims include:

  • Create awareness
  • Educate
  • Research
  • Develop a strong sense of community
  • Create regular content to champion women in football (players, staff AND fans)
  • Create strong relationships with clubs
  • Create strong relationships with club trusts and communities
  • Have a presence at football grounds and sports bars to build a more welcoming environment for young girls and women
  • Continue to campaign against sexism in football
  • Continue to campaign against online abuse

The campaign has been given a lot of exposure through the media which helps spread the message in an attempt to change as many ideas as possible to make football a safe and secure place in which women can compete. There are many football teams around the country that have begun to compete with women’s teams as well as men’s teams. The teams involved also include many from the FA Premier League which helps spread the message further as these teams will already have a large fan base from all around the world.

There is a blog on the campaign’s website which helps keep fans up to date with what is happening in and around the game. This includes articles about major tournaments from around the world and will help spread the message.

If you’d like to find out more about the HerGameToo campaign, please visit www.hergametoo.co.uk