Sexism at football – a problem that isn’t going away

Angela has bled Liverpool red for seven decades, yet on match-day she still hears the same sneer: “Shut up. What do you know about football? You should be in the kitchen getting your husband’s tea.” At 72, her presence in the stands is questioned for one reason—she is a woman.

Her story is not isolated. Anti-discrimination body Kick It Out logged 131 sexist incidents between August and February, more than double the tally for the same stretch last season. The rise is echoed by Greater Manchester Police, whose Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) reports at football climbed from 18 in 2023-24 to 28 last term, with further increases expected.

For many, the hostility begins long before kick-off. One mother told BBC Sport that misogyny has barred her daughter from men’s games. “I’ll take her to the women’s game if that doesn’t get ruined, but I won’t be taking her to the men’s game until she’s a lot older. I wouldn’t feel safe.”

Zoe Hitchen, a Football League-accredited photographer from 2008-2010, recalls routine sexist chants and mascots “creeping up” behind her as she worked. Complaints to clubs, she says, were ignored. “I was quite outspoken for a woman working in football and I would complain and nothing would get done.”

Online, the abuse mutates. Derby County volunteer Simran Atwal found a match-day photo of herself and friends reposted without consent, flooded with sexualised comments. Others have discovered AI-generated “nudified” images of themselves circulating—an act illegal under UK law—leaving victims fearful that “these images are out there forever”.

Even basic facilities can feel hostile. One supporter described entering women’s toilets at a stadium only to find men urinating in the cubicles, an experience she calls “the norm”.

Experts argue the sport’s hyper-masculine culture normalises such behaviour. Sports psychologist Dr Misia Gervis says some fans feel entitled to shout “whatever they like”, while Professor Stacey Pope notes that sexist acts inside grounds often go unchallenged in ways “we would not accept in other spaces in society”.

Police insist the spike in numbers reflects better reporting. Ch Supt Colette Rose, head of specialist operations at GMP, recalls being followed and verbally abused while off-duty at a match in Germany. “It shook me to the core… I couldn’t locate a police officer in uniform to support me.” She believes education inside male-dominated terraces can ripple outward: “If we can work with males around behaviours that may make women feel unsafe… that will have an impact on wider society.”

Clubs are beginning to act. In 2023 Gillingham became the first EFL side to ban supporters for misogynistic chanting, using fan-camera evidence. Stockport County’s safeguarding lead Sarah Collins urges supporters to “question those behaviours and get people to speak up”. Campaign group Her Game Too, which receives at least one report every match-day, has partnered with more than 500 pubs to create safe viewing spaces for women and girls.

National bodies are also mobilising. Kick It Out launched a 2024 anti-sexism campaign, the FA unveiled a four-year equality strategy, and the Home Office will deploy covert online teams to target tech-savvy abusers. Universities and the Football Supporters’ Association have begun a research project inviting female fans to detail their match-day experiences, while curriculum reforms aim to tackle sexism in schools.

Progress, however, is fragile. Kick It Out warns that “clubs and governing bodies need to do more to build trust with female fans. Accountability builds trust, trust encourages reporting, and reporting drives change.”

Angela’s wish is simple: “Wouldn’t it be lovely for in 10-20-30 years’ time, some women to sit down and say, ‘I cannot believe what people used to go through at football matches’ because it doesn’t happen to me.”

Until that day, the terraces remain a battlefield where too many women still have to fight simply to be seen—and heard.