Muted Respect for Women's Soccer in England

• Los Angeles Times, Friday, September 21, 2007 6 PM

Don't expect to hear much about the Women's World Cup from the British press. Grahame L. Jones of the Los Angeles Times says that women's soccer, like almost any other sport in England, comes a distant 12th to the men's game in terms of media coverage.

Which isn't to say the English ladies aren't getting any press in Britain. Quite the contrary, the Women's World Cup is receiving unprecedented (if still muted) attention from British papers like The Guardian. This is partly because England has a respectably strong team this year; according to Jones, Saturday's quarterfinal against the U.S. is actually drawing wagers from betting outfits like William Hill (the U.S. women are 4-7 favorites to win tomorrow while England is 4-1).

Columnists are also paying attention. The majority may not have too much positive to say, but the Independent's Andy McSmith "felt moved" enough to say, "Contrary to what the bloke down the pub has been saying, the English women's football team is not rubbish." The Guardian's Martin Kelner agrees (sort of), noting that "people buying properties in Spain, Barney or Dick Van Dyke being a detective," are all worse things than women's soccer. In any event, the misogynist British sports press still has a ways to go to be on par with the U.S. in terms of giving the women's sports its rightful due.

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