Have the Lionesses inspired the next generation?

Kicking off the new school year

Huge viewing figures, large screens and a sold out Wembley to see England win the European Championship.

No, you’re not dreaming of an alternative to Euro 1996, we’re talking about the immensely successful Lionesses and their fantastic win in Euro 2022.

The Lionesses sparked a major increase in interest in football for women and girls following their victory over Germany in July 2022. Some of us needed a lie down after extra time.

Following their win, the Lionesses wrote to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss about how the country could capitalise on the interest in women’s football to extend the opportunities to more girls.

Our voters were asked to consider whether there would be a long lasting change following the win.

Scores at the final whistle

Primary

Interestingly, our Primary-aged pupils had the most optimistic outlook on the Lionesses' win.

76% of 5-7-year olds think that it will increase the number of girls playing football

82% of 7-11-year olds believe that it will create long-lasting change

Doughnut chart showing the weekly results for secondary and college aged pupils. They answered the question, Will the Lionesses' win create long-lasting change?

Secondary & College

Things get slightly less optimistic when we look to the thoughts of our Secondary and College students.

Over half of those who voted on the Secondary and College question believe the Lionesses' win won't create long-lasting change

Our College students showed the least optimism, with only 40% voting Yes

Post-match interviews with our pupils

Young girl sitting cross-legged with a wondering look on her face.

Secondary school

Kent

"The women winning have changed the face of football forever, but it is only 1 win so it will make a short term change but not a long-term change. They have to capitalise on the attention to the women's game and make the most out of it."

Primary school

Bedfordshire

"In my opinion, the Lionesses' win will create long-lasting change. I believe this because women's football is on television more resulting in the increase of people watching women's football."

Young boy playing keepie uppies with a football. He is wearing a red football kit.

Secondary school

Greater London

"I believe this is the start of a snowball effect in the UK education system and as more money comes in through sponsorship, more can be given to UK charities and education to develop opportunities further."

You spoke...they listened

"The victory gives the opportunity to deliver real societal change in this country, change that many of you recognise and change we are committed and ready to deliver. One of the immediate challenges is to increase the number of girls playing football and you have hopefully seen the players are hugely passionate about this [...] at present only 63% of schools offer football equally to girls and boys. Equal access would change the future of so many current and future generations of school girls. 'This is one of many challenges but with sell-out crowds, record TV audiences and shiny silverware there are so many reasons to excited about the future of women’s football. We hope you share in this excitement and are part of the future of the game, either by playing, watching or volunteering. Thank you for taking the time to be part of this vote."

The Football Association

You spoke...they listened

"It's great to see young people's input regarding the inspirational effect of the Lionesses victory at the WEUROs this summer. I think their feedback reflects what we've seen regarding other major sporting events, that the inspiration and perceived legacy is strongest in the primary school age group, but not too far behind is secondary school. It would be interesting to understand whether the young people responding were thinking about long lasting change on the pitch, or in society more broadly, given the Lionesses passion for wider societal impact. There are so many more opportunities for girls and women to participate, volunteer, or work in the football industry and I hope people are inspired to do so. Results like this re-emphasise the need to keep these opportunities visible to young people in order we can translate some of their beliefs into action."

Women in Football

An interesting trend...

Primary 5-7

Will the Lionesses' win get more girls playing football?

Female 'Yes' votes were the highest, with 816 votes out of a total of 977.

Male 'No' votes were the highest in this age group. However that still only amounted to 303 out of a total of 1038.

Primary 7-11

Will the Lionesses' win create long-lasting change?

Our highest 'Yes' vote came from the Primary 7-11 age group this week - 87% of the female vote opted 'Yes'. This amounted to 2044 votes!

The 'Yes' vote tipped the scale across the board with our Primary voters.

Secondary

Will the Lionesses' win create long-lasting change?

Whilst the 'No' vote was higher than the 'Yes' vote amongst our Secondary pupils, things get more interesting when we break this down further.
The female 'Yes' vote just edged out in front this week with a total of 51% of the vote.
Among our Secondary male students, 2737 voted 'No' which amounted to 61% of the vote.

Chart showing the college vote broken down by gender. The chart shows the yes and no votes from female, male and diverse voters.

College and 16+

Will the Lionesses' win create long-lasting change?

The female College vote was the only group of female voters with a higher 'No' vote than 'Yes' vote this week.
Only 42% of female students believed the win would create a long-lasting change.
Our lowest 'Yes' vote this week came from the male College vote, where just 37% voted 'Yes'.

THIS WEEK'S HEADLINES

17910

7495

10415

Kicking off the new school year