As I approach six months as a #HerGameToo Ambassador, I thought it would only be right to mark the occasion by summarising the crazy six months I have had on my blog which has been neglected for far too long.
Growing up I didn’t have the same opportunities to play and enjoy football as the boys I’d have a kick about with at break time. The effort put into boys’ football wasn’t mirrored for any girls’ teams I played for and I was always made to feel as though I had no place in football, as a player or a fan. That is without even adding on the second struggle I have faced; my ethnicity. I have only recently opened up about the struggles of being a South Asian woman who loves football and I always felt like I was doing wrong by someone for doing something I loved or I wasn’t allowed. By family, friends, even random strangers would give their unsolicited opinions on it. But still, nothing could stop me.
The #HerGameToo campaign allowed me to feel like I truly did belong. I’ve followed Liverpool home and away for years and it wasn’t that I didn’t feel welcome, but there would always be someone who would make a comment or a gesture or do something to make it uncomfortable for a woman. That wouldn’t happen to a man. That shouldn’t happen to a woman.
As soon as the viral video reached my timeline, I knew this was going to be huge. I knew I had to become a part of it. Fast forward to March 2022 and I became the Liverpool FC Ambassador. This was a pivotal moment for me for so many reasons, but being able to change the future so the girls of today and tomorrow don’t go through the same struggles I and so many others went through is something important to me.
Taking on the role of Liverpool FC Ambassador, I knew it wouldn’t be easy. Not only because of the enormity of a club like Liverpool, but the fanbase stretches to all corners of the world. Social media helps with that aspect, but it is a huge responsibility in ensuring I can reach all of these supporters to be able to communicate their concerns to the club.
To figure out how best to approach this, I decided to survey female Liverpool fans.
In total, I surveyed over 200 female fans to find out about their experiences (if any) of sexism at football matches.
Many responses were as expected. The eye-opener for me was the open question for fans to tell me about their experiences. The standout responses were all about men touching women unnecessarily, when passing by or talking to them. The sexist comments were all regarding knowledge of football and always feeling as though you have to prove your knowledge to call yourself a football fan. There were 59 responses all detailing incidents similar to those I have mentioned and I just think to myself, “Why?”.
I meet with Rishi, the club’s senior Equality, Diversity & Inclusion manager, on a monthly basis to discuss any concerns and work out collaborative approaches to tackle issues around sexism in football. It has to be said that the club and us fans are lucky to have someone like Rishi in that position. I never imagined speaking to Liverpool Football Club once, let alone every 4-5 weeks without fail. I am so grateful to Rishi for his time each month and for listening so intently to the topics I bring up. It means the fans are being heard and I am so proud to be the voice for female Liverpool fans.
One big step forward for me was announcing my first #HerGameToo partnership. It was with an independent supporters’ club, French Kopites, in July. All it took was a quick chat with Hadrien and it was clear that our goals aligned.
So far, we have reporting posters and FREE sanitary items in women’s bathrooms at The Kop Bar, Lush Bar and Pizza Wawa in Paris. All of the credit goes to Hadrien for being so committed, proactive and passionate about this cause. Allies like him will move the campaign forward and play a huge part in educating others. He is putting so much effort in to spreading awareness of the campaign around Paris.
On that note, there is plenty more to come regarding partnerships with Supporters’ Clubs… stay tuned!
Another goal of mine as a #HerGameToo Ambassador was to help local teams at Grassroots level because, to put it simply, football without Grassroots is nothing. I was so proud to announce TWO local partnerships. The first partnership was with Cwrt Rawlin FC, who currently have two U13s girls teams. They recently received their new kits for this season!
The second partnership was with Caerphilly Dragons Girls FC, the biggest girls club in Wales with over 200 girls!! I recently went to visit the club at a training session at my old school and to say I was emotional was an understatement.
Both partnerships are close to my heart, helping out in my local community in Caerphilly. These girls have opportunities that didn’t exist 15 years ago when I was in school and dying to play football properly. It is all thanks to the parents who give up their time, effort and money to coach teams, to drop them off at training, to fund their clubs and so much more. Football is more than just 11 players, a coach, a referee and a ball. I truly hope that football continues to become more accessible for girls all over the world.
There is so much more in the pipeline which I can’t reveal yet or I will get told off!
Being part of this campaign has given me so many unbelievable opportunities I could never have imagined and it is so reassuring to know that I have my Her Game Too network family I can turn to for a boost whenever I need. When I say it has changed my life for the better, I mean it.
Thank you all for your continuous support!
You can keep up to date with everything we are doing on the #HerGameToo Twitter and Instagram pages.
roopavyas 