Why We're Big Fans Of The Women MPs Having A Kickabout In The Commons

๐Ÿ‘ for showcasing women's football.
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Women MPs were given a telling off after practising their keepy-uppies in the House of Commons chamber yesterday. And while some people have been kicking off about the kicking off โ€“ โ€œdisrespectfulโ€, โ€œwaste of tax payerโ€™s moneyโ€, yadda yadda yadda โ€“ weโ€™re pretty glad they did it.

Because not only have Hannah Bardell, Tracey Crouch, Alison McGovern, Lou Haigh and Steph Peacock shown politicians are (shock horror) real people, theyโ€™ve also flown the flag for womenโ€™s football that little bit higher.

For too long, โ€œthe beautiful gameโ€ has been code for โ€œthe manโ€™s gameโ€, with research from the Football Association showing just 2.9 million girls and women play in football teams in the UK, compared to 8.9 million men.

But the tide is turning, with womenโ€™s football slowly but surely gaining the platform it deserves. And if a cheeky kickabout in parliament keeps it on the agenda, we are 100 per cent into it.

The womenโ€™s parliamentary football team @UKWPFC should have played their first match tonight โšฝ๏ธ

Myself, @Alison_McGovern @tracey_crouch @LouHaigh @Steph_Peacock were all set but votes stopped us alas! Instead we had a kickabout and a photo in the chamber! pic.twitter.com/WT2lhh7Oym

โ€” Hannah Bardell (@HannahB4LiviMP) November 20, 2018

The phrase โ€œyou canโ€™t be what you canโ€™t seeโ€ is bandied around a lot when it comes to female representation, but thereโ€™s a reason itโ€™s so overused: itโ€™s bloody true.

Studies have shown visible role models are a key factor for increasing engagement in sport. Thankfully, there are more professional women footballers than ever before in the UK, with this seasonโ€™s FA Womenโ€™s Super League becoming the first fully professional womenโ€™s league in Europe, with around 200 paid players.

But we canโ€™t all be professional footballers.

A 2013 study by the Cardiff Metropolitan University concluded that having access to a โ€œsustainable role model is more important than finding someone elite or subsequently with celebrity statusโ€ for increasing sports engagement. In other words, we need to see โ€œregularโ€ women playing football just for the fun of it.

And while a bunch of MPs donโ€™t exactly represent the every (wo)man, the photos of them proudly standing in their kits show what a wonderful hobby it can be, which is certainly a step in the right direction.

pic.twitter.com/GYCDPf3sQy

โ€” Hannah Bardell (@HannahB4LiviMP) November 20, 2018

In fact, theyโ€™ve already inspired others to get active.

Crawley Old Girls (CROGS), an initiative to get self-defining โ€œold girlsโ€ playing football, posted a video of a player practising keepy-uppies at their meeting.

Sharing photos of the politicians they later tweeted: โ€œThis is brilliant and is creating more awareness that womenโ€™s recreational football is #ForAll. If you hadnโ€™t thought about playing football before, be inspired to try it!โ€

Not quite the House of Commons but we had our Inaugural AGM tonight, in the Crawley Town FC Board Room (furniture moved ๐Ÿ˜‚), and we stand with you @UKWPFC ! pic.twitter.com/MA5tUYnNaC

โ€” COGs-CrawleyOldGirls (@CrawleyCOGs) November 21, 2018

John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, said several of the MPs had apologised for the kickabout and there were โ€œno hard feelingsโ€.

But Hannah Bardell reportedly said she does not feel the need to apologise, adding: โ€œFootball has long been the domain of men but itโ€™s a sport that women and girls enjoy and excel at the world over.โ€

Youโ€™ve got to love a rebel.

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