00:00So, Carly, just tell me a bit about the research which shows how undeveloped the women's game
00:07actually is, especially at a grassroots level.
00:11Yeah, I think that the perception, obviously, at the minute is women's football is booming
00:15and it is probably at the elite and the top level, what the Lionesses did in 2022, and
00:19then backed that up with a really strong World Cup. It all kind of looks pretty rosy on Sky
00:24Sports and BBC. And it is going really well, but research that Shua have done, which in
00:29her amazing company, who have backed women's football for about four or five years now,
00:33done multiple campaigns and kind of initiatives, really shining the light on the good things
00:37about the women's game, but also kind of things like this research, which shows that 78% of
00:42women and girls actually feel like they don't have access in their local areas to facilities
00:47and coaches as much as boys and men do in their areas. So I think it's hugely quite
00:52like a significant piece of research and one that just kind of alerts everyone that actually
00:57there's still a long way to go in the women's game.
01:00And as you say there, obviously, there has been a bit of a growth in terms of, you know,
01:03the Lionesses, the WSL, but how important is it that more is given to the foundations
01:09of women's football? Because that ultimately does end up improving the professional level
01:13as well.
01:14Yeah, hugely, I think, especially as like former Lionesses and the Lionesses now, we've
01:19all come through a grassroots pathway. I think most professional footballers have started
01:23a local community or a local club and then have gone on to do fantastic things. But we
01:28all recognize that the pyramid at the top is the small percentage and being around the
01:33grassroots level and that kind of bottom level of the pyramid. And it's been so important
01:37that we maintain that, but also keep kind of striving to be better because there are
01:41so many boundaries still kind of barriers, sorry, still blocking women and girls getting
01:47and staying into football. So I think this research really shows that. So I think we
01:51just got to keep having these conversations and making sure that we're now putting some
01:54changes in place to make sure that girls and women have keep having those opportunities.
01:58How much has women's football actually changed since you started and in comparison to maybe
02:03when you retired or, you know, what it's like in today's day? Quite a lot has probably changed.
02:08Yeah. And it's a very old age saying it back in my day and I hate doing it. But at the
02:12same time, sometimes you do these interviews and you kind of have to reflect on it was
02:17kind of like just people's parents and the odd person passing by that might stop and
02:21look at the game for what it is. And at that time, it's still like Sunderland v Everton
02:25or Sunderland v Arsenal. There are still big names in the game playing. I was only 14,
02:2915 playing senior football, but they were still recognisable names. And we were playing
02:33at some Sunday pitch, just like at the side of nowhere. No one really cared about we were
02:38wearing men's kit. It was all oversized. And like I say, we just affiliated with the club.
02:43We weren't even cemented into it. And then you look at it now and the ambition every
02:47year is for every club to get to Wembley because the FA Cup's hosted there every year. Every
02:51club is pretty much full time in the WSL and WSL Championship. So it's a massive change,
02:56but it's where the girls need to be in the games when you're going to get better and
02:58better every year.
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