Written by Elodie Clements
The Lionesses’ victory at the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship propelled girls’ participation in sports into the spotlight like never before. While the younger generation has been inspired to get involved in male-dominated sports, universities are often left to bridge this gap for women who previously missed out.
Alongside massively increasing coverage of the women’s game, the Lionesses pioneered the dawn of a new era in women’s sports, with the number of girls under 16 participating in football skyrocketing by 140% the following year. This was paired with a massive increase in participation in other traditionally masculine sports like rugby.
In 2022, gender-equal access to sports was included in PE curriculum standards. Although the younger generation are overcoming traditional gender roles in sports, current young women have grown up without the opportunity to participate in male-dominated sports. This exclusion in secondary school has led universities to become a hub for women’s participation in male-dominated sports – creating inclusive environments run by women, for women.
As of 2024, LSESU Women’s Football Club had tripled its size compared to the year before. This is one of many similar stories nationwide as women’s university sports see increasing growth and success. University sports societies provide a gateway to opportunity for those who had little chance to participate in male-dominated sports at secondary school.
Although currently part of LSE’s WFC, Portia, from the UK, had no opportunity to play football at her school. “My school didn’t have a girl’s football team. [When] they tried to make one, I was the only one who showed up.” Football wasn’t in the girls’ PE curriculum, and she didn’t have the option to play with the boys.
While Portia had some previous experience playing football with her brothers, it’s hardly surprising that interest in a girls’ football team was few and far between, when most girls would have had hardly any opportunity to play football previously.
In 2024, 46% of girls aged 14-15 reported that a lack of confidence stopped them from participating in school sports. Where there are opportunities to get involved in male-dominated sport, these have historically been a case of offering limited inclusion into a male space.
For a beginner, being thrown into the deep end amongst a group of boys who have years of experience is an intimidating prospect. Very rarely have these opportunities been shaped to cater to women and girls.
This is what Adeife, another WFC player, found when trying to play football at her school in Nigeria: “The boys would never pass to us.” Although there were sometimes opportunities for girls to play football with the boys, these sessions were “centred around the boys”. “We would just end up sitting on the side watching them play.”
This is the experience of most girls trying to get involved with sports where male participation is the norm: ideas of which sports are appropriate for girls to participate in permeate not only the culture of sport, but the institutions that facilitate it.
Football isn’t the only sport where women and girls have been disregarded. Paulina, who currently plays for LSESU Women’s Rugby, also holds a green belt in Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. Growing up in Germany, she faced stigma from her community for competing in a sport that women were not deemed “tough” enough to partake in. While some boys purposely gave her an advantage because of her gender, she added: “Some boys would refuse to fight me because I was a girl – it was really annoying.” Well-intentioned or not, these gestures removed her agency over participation in a mixed-gender sport, and prevented her from getting a taste of the full jiu-jitsu experience.
There are other ways women are prevented from getting the experiences they want out of sport. Liadh, from the Republic of Ireland, joined Women’s Rugby at LSE because there was no women’s water polo team. Although university clearly still has some way to go in securing gender parity in women’s sports, it also provides a wealth of opportunity for women to get involved in sports they have been previously excluded from.
BUCS, the organisation that facilitates competitive university sport, found that there had been a 30% increase in the number and size of women’s teams over the past decade. In particular, the number of women’s rugby union teams rose by a whopping 41%. In many cases, the most popular women’s sports societies are those which might not have been accessible before university.
At LSE, the Women’s Rugby club’s inclusivity is one of its major selling points to potential new members. “You can pick it up late and still have fun”, said Liadh, reflecting on how sports where it is more normal to start at a young age don’t have the same kind of inclusivity.
The same is true for LSE Women’s Football, which expects many incoming members each year to be beginners.
Clearly, university is a force for good in encouraging the participation of all in sport, but particularly that of women. As women’s sport continues to grow, it is important to provide for young adults who missed out at secondary school – a role primarily shouldered by universities.
