This blog has been written by both Maya Shah and Freya Harrad.
After completing the first of three residentials in the BUCS Women’s Leadership Programme, we came away feeling inspired to make a change within the women’s game. Our journeys into football were very different and our unique stories highlighted to both of us the diversity of experiences within the women’s game.
For both of us, the Lionesses winning the Euros in 2022 was an incredible, highly emotional moment that sparked our passionate interest in women’s football. We have found the increased coverage of the Lionesses and the WSL to be inspiring, yet we couldn’t help feeling that something was missing. Whilst the top WSL players are increasingly becoming household names with big sponsorship deals and salaries to match, players in the lower leagues, despite being highly talented, are in turn being left behind.
With this idea in my mind, we began to discuss how best to improve the coverage of players in the lower tiers of women’s football. For us, it seemed obvious to focus on the FAWNL (FA Women’s National League) as we could see through quick searches online that coverage was minimal. Despite having a thriving community of dedicated players, staff and coaches, in the public eye there was limited understanding of these people’s voices, stories and experiences.
Believing this to be a gross injustice, we began toying with the idea of creating our own social media platform dedicated to elevating the coverage of the FAWNL. We went on to call this platform, ‘Two On The Ball’. At the start, we felt very apprehensive at the idea, unsure if we would be able to do these clubs and players justice. However, we decided to take the leap and launch the platform at the end of January.
Since launching ‘Two On The Ball’, the response and engagement we have had from clubs and players within the FAWNL has been truly incredible. We have been humbled by the experience of being able to put these incredible people’s stories and experiences into articles, being able to interact with some inspiring figures within the women’s game. Alongside our bi-weekly articles on our website, we have utilised both Tik Tok and Instagram to engage a wider variety of audiences. More recently, we have begun work on our first podcast, something we hope to make a monthly occurrence to encourage discussion regarding the wider issues within women’s football.
Looking ahead to the future, we hope to work more closely with clubs in the National League to create captivating content that shines a light on their unique experiences. We really want to highlight to the world the time and effort that goes on behind the scenes within these clubs. Despite only just starting, this journey has already been so fulfilling and we cannot wait to see how far it will take us!
By Maya Shah and Freya Harrad
