England reaping benefits of investment in women's football, says FA CEO
Tuesday 7 July 2015 18:23, UK
FA chief Martin Glenn believes victory over Germany in the third-place match at the Women’s World Cup is a watershed moment in the history of English women’s football.
A Fara Williams extra-time penalty on her 147th international appearance saw England break Germany’s resistance to record their first win in 21 attempts against the two-time World Cup winners in Canada.
Women’s football was banned in this country for more than 50 years from 1921 and Glenn, appointed FA CEO in March, insists there is plenty of progress still to be made.
“To finish third and that victory against Germany, the first victory against Germany in 21 go’s, for us is a really big watershed,” Glenn told Sky Sports News HQ.
“We have over-exceeded the expectations that we had coming in. We performed a lot better than the coach probably hoped. We played well and we got better through the tournament.
“You don’t get rich quickly, you build things steadily. The investment we put into the elite women’s game as well as the grassroots, we know will bear through.
“We are playing catch up. We banned the women’s game for longer than most other European countries. We made mixed football a difficulty for a number of years. So we still have a fair way to go.”
England’s £10.65m annual spend on women’s football is more than any other European nation but Glenn says The Lionesses’ performances at Canada 2015 show that investment is justified.
“Don’t forget we are spending more than any other European nation because we are starting from 10 years behind and we want to catch up,” he added.
“But every pound we spend in the women’s game in England has a fantastic return on investment, and probably a better return on investment in terms of games we might win than just about anything we could do.”
