No doubt, women are beginning to get a lot of attention these days and it is something of admiration. For example, a new world record in terms of attendance was recorded on 30th March 2022. It was a staggering 91,000+ fans in the stadium and it was an El-Classico between Barcelona and Real Madrid women's football clubs.
Barcelona won by 5 goals to 2 and there were a lot of raves about the game. This is a big boost for women's football and it shows that more people are beginning to see reasons to embrace women in sports.
However, despite these feats achieved in women's sports, virtually all the top positions of leagues in the world are still held by men.
For example, in the Nigeria Premier league, there is hardly any woman occupying the post of director in the top Nigerian clubs. Also, a report in 2017 shows that of all the 523 directors in the English Football league, only 35 of them are women.
Within the governing body of English football, about 70% are men while the remaining 30% are women. Although the number looks promising, more women are needed in sports to give a clear sense of belonging.
One of the well-known women in English Football is Karren Brady, the current vice-chairwoman of West Ham United. Amanda Staveley is another recent name that was famous for helping some middle investors acquire Newcastle United.
Apart from English football, a rare feat was achieved in the US by a group of women who founded a new football club known as Angel City FC in the National Women's Soccer League. This is newsworthy because not only was it experienced in a country with not much passion for soccer, it was achieved by a set of passionate women.
One of the investors of Angel City FC, Natalie Portman, was in for a fight to help bring equality to sports. She proposed equal pay and benefits for both men and women in the US and that has been taken into action. The world as a whole is beginning to see why women should be given the same preference as men in sports.
To make this topic more interesting, a brief look at the history of women in sports would help.
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The History of Women Participating in Sports
The fight for equality in modern-day sports began right from the inception of organized sports. The fight includes equal pay for both genders and allowing women to participate in field events.
Famous names such as Simone Biles, Megan Rapinoe, Serena Williams, and a host of others have been advocating fair treatment for women. Going down the history of athletics, quite some women have made remarkable marks in sports.
The First Set of Women in Sports
Ancient women started participating in sports even when it was seen as weird in many cultures. In Odyssey, a poem by Homer, he talks about how Princess Nausica played ball with her maids on a riverbank.
The history of women in sports officially started in ancient Greek when women were allowed to participate in a few sporting events. For example, women took part in foot races and equestrian events. While this is true, women were strictly forbidden from other Olympic sports.
Spartan women were fully active in competing in sports such as foot racing, discus, javelin throwing, and wrestling.
Africa, which is considered the beginning of mankind was not left out. It used to be that Senegalese women participated in a form of wrestling known as LAAMB. However, women were banned in the 20th century when wrestling became institutionalized.
In the south-central Sahara region, women of the Key Faduty tribe were engaged in a ritual competition to celebrate the strength of women.
However, most of these events in ancient times were more religious, ritual, or ceremonial events than what we call sports today. Notwithstanding, that was the beginning of modern-day women in sports and the recognition is growing as each year passes.
Title IX and the Beginning of Equality
The 1950s and 1960s were the periods when women started participating in a few sports at the Olympic level. However, at that time, there were still some restrictions placed on women until the passage of Title IX of the Education Act in 1972.
The passage of the act was the breakthrough women have been fighting for because it gives women equal opportunities in sports and education.
Before the passage of Title IX, the number of women athletes in the US was less than 30,000. However, by 2012, the number has outrageously increased to 190,000. More female students in high school started involving in sports and the number went from about 300,000 in 1971 to a whopping 2.8 million in 2003.
As you know, it is one thing to have something under the law and a different thing from reality. While the law has passed the law for equality in sporting activities, it is still not as concrete as it should be. In reality, women are still fighting for their rights and the fight continues to this day.
Before the 1990s, any woman who performed excellently at the Olympic level was subjected to additional confirmation. The confirmation was to be sure if truly the participant has the qualities of a woman. Thankfully, the gender-biased act was abolished in 1999.
Another biased act was recorded in 2011 when the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) carried out mandatory tests on women for high testosterone levels. No equivalent tests were conducted for men.
Salary inequality is another aspect that sportswomen are still fighting for. Football and other sporting bodies tend to pay women less than their male counterparts. This can be seen in English Women's Football, Nigerian Women's Football, USA Hockey, WNBA, and a host of other sporting events.
Despite all the challenges confronting women in sports, the progress has been exponential and it will only get better with time.
Women Athletes who are Pioneers in the World of Sports
After going through the history of women in sports and it has progressed over the years, it is worth looking at some trailblazing women athletes all over the world.
- Ronda Rousey: the first female fighter to make it into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2016
- Fanny Blankers-Keon: a mother of five who was the first runner to win four gold medals in a single Olympic event.
- Chioma Ajunwa-Opara: the first Nigerian to ever win gold at the 1996 summer Olympics in the US
- Gertrude Ederle: A renowned swimmer and the first woman to swim the English Channel. She broke the record in 1962 with over two hours to become the fastest swimmer to swim the English Channel.
- Carina Vogt: the first female ski jumper to win a gold medal in Olympics in 2014. There was a 90-year waiting period before women were allowed to participate in the event
- Ayomide Bello: First Nigerian female canoeist to qualify for Olympics in 2020 in Tokyo
These are just a few feats accomplished by women in sports and it is projected that more feats would be achieved in the future. Although some women have been guilty of doping in sports, the figure is still very low when compared to their male counterparts.
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Women in Sports Journalism and Broadcasting
While it seems normal to see women in sports journalism and broadcasting, it is a new feat that is worth mentioning.
In Nigeria, Tega Onojaife is a popular sports producer and presenter for Smooth 98.1 FM Radio. She is the founder of the Ladies in Sport Conference and has done greatly in mentoring Nigerian girls and women on the importance of sports in society.
Apart from Nigeria, there are other famous women's sports broadcasters that are bringing the equality game to the forefront. For example, Barbara Mandell broke the record of becoming the first female newsreader in the UK in 1953.
Currently, it is no longer strange to see women on stations like Sky Sports, SuperSport, etc. More women are going into sports journalism and broadcasting and the rate of acceptance in this aspect has been excellent.
However, it was never like this decades ago. For example, in the United States, Jane Chastain was the first to broadcast sports in 1963. After Jane's feat, it took about seven years before the female sports reporter was found, and that was Lesley Visser.
Today, Lesley is regarded as the top sportscaster of all time and has achieved great achievement in the world of sports. Ms Visser remains the only caster (of both men and women) to have covered multiple sports events such as the NBA finals, horseracing, ice skating, etc.
Today, even though gender equality hasn't been fully implemented in sports, there is a significant improvement that shows the desire of women to take part in sporting activities.
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