By David Gold
October 15 – England women’s football coach Hope Powell has said it has been a “phenomenal year” for women’s football, but that she will not be satisfied with the growth of the game until England are world champions.
This year the Women’s Super League was launched amid much fanfare and with the backing of ESPN, who show weekly highlights from the competition, and the England coach was thrilled with the progress made thanks to the new league.
“The standard has been better than ever, certainly during my tenure, so it’s really pleasing,” she told Connect Sport.
“There have been bigger crowds and more TV coverage – ESPN coming in has been brilliant.
“It’s been a phenomenal year, and if we can get some success with the national team, that will be the driving force.”
England progressed beyond the group stage of this year’s World Cup in Germany, but were defeated in circumstances familiar to their male counterparts, as they succumbed to France at the quarterfinal stage in a penalty shoot out.
Despite the defeat, Powell believes that opportunities for young girls to get involved with the game are significant, and that progress is being made.
“When we announced the squad for the World Cup, everyone was there – I remember thinking ‘I hope we see you again’ – but that is the expectation that comes with a big tournament,” said the former England player, who was part of the squad for the 1995 Women’s World Cup, England first appearance in the tournament.
“There is the appetite there, we need to sustain the interest – how do we do that?
“I don’t know what the formula is but from an international perspective, if we do well then we get more media attention.”
“I think there are more opportunities to play now than ever before.
“I think the fact that more girls are playing means the standard of some of those young girls coming through is higher.
“There are more girls of a better standard playing and getting the chance to develop, and there’s a real pathway that helps them develop – that structure wasn’t in place when I was 11 or 12.
“Of course we all want it done that little bit quicker – more investment, more money, I’m never satisfied.
“People ask me and I say I will never be satisfied until we are world champions.”
Powell was at the launch of Coaching for Hope’s “African Women into Football” project at Wembley Stadium this week, where she praised the spirit of the youngsters she saw when visiting South Africa to see Coaching for Hope’s work a few years ago, describing it as a humbling experience.
“We will moan if we haven’t got a ball each, then you go there and see what they have got,” she said.
“I think it just gives you an appreciation of what is happening in the rest of the world, and it’s very humbling.
“The people I worked with were just so appreciative of people going out there.”
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