By David Gold
March 9 – FIFA President Sepp Blatter has said that women’s football has a stronger social dimension than the men’s game.
Speaking to the FIFA website yesterday on International Women’s Day, the international celebration of women’s economic, political and social achievements, Blatter praised the women’s game.
“Sport, and football in particular, has played an important role in the emancipation of women right from the very beginning and continues to do so today,” said Blatter.
“In this sense, women’s football has a stronger social dimension than the men’s game and women players and fans relate to the game differently.
“This does not diminish the women’s football as a purely sporting contest; on the contrary, it enhances it.
“This is something that FIFA is aware of and we are committed to helping to achieve the social goals of women’s football, such as creating equal opportunities – whether in football or in other walks of life.”
Women’s football had a superb year in 2011, with the World Cup in Germany capturing the imagination after Japan’s brilliant victory (pictured below).
They won a thrilling final against the United States on penalties in a match in which the Twitter record for the number of tweets per second was broken.
The final also attracted a global audience of 63 million people, underlining the growing attraction of women’s football, which continues to go from strength to strength, claims Blatter.
“We said before the event that the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany would be the best ever and that proved to be the case,” he said.
“On the pitch, there was a vast improvement in the standard of the football of the 16 participating teams, who produced a series of close encounters and the lowest goal average in Women’s World Cup history.”
Marking International Women’s Day, Germany forward Melanie Behringer added: “Both on the field and off it, it [women’s football] is not as aggressive as men’s football.
“The spectators come along for the good entertainment.
“They’re simply there to have fun.
“There’s no hooliganism whatsoever.
“Instead, it’s more of a family atmosphere, with many people bringing their kids.”
These words were also echoed by Brazil forward Rosana (pictured top), who said: “Women’s football is the sport of the future.
“When we come to Europe, we see for ourselves just how far the sport has developed.
“It’s astonishing and highly motivating.”
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