To say this weekend’s World Cup final match between England and Spain will be a big moment for women’s football in the UK would be the understatement of the century. The Lionesses’ victory at the 2022 Euros was exciting enough, but a triumph on the biggest stage in football would transform their success from a moment in time to the start of an era.

But ensuring that success translates into change at a grassroots level is a little more difficult – something former Lioness Karen Carney knows all too well. 

In July this year, a review into the future of UK women’s football chaired by Carney revealed a “deficit” of grassroots facilities was standing in the way of more women and girls playing the sport, even after they’d overcome barriers including gender bias and a lack of visibility.

The women’s game is getting more attention than ever, but Carney’s review is proof that more needs to be done to capitalise on the success we’ve seen over the last year. So, ahead of the big game this Sunday, Strong Women sat down with Carney to discuss the Lionesses’ journey to the final, as well as the work she’d like to see take place post-tournament to make the most of this historic moment.  

The Women’s World Cup final is just one day away – what has watching England’s success in this tournament been like for you as a former player?

It’s been amazing, really. This team has lost maybe once under Sarina Wiegman, they’re the current European champions and now they’re one game away from being world champions. To achieve both those things in a 12-month period is just incredible. And even though a lot of us went into this tournament with high anxiety after all the injuries lead to us having a bit less of a strong squad than we would have liked, we’ve got to this point where we’ve knocked out the joint hosts – even after facing adversity during the competition.

So, for me, when I’m watching these incredible women, this incredible manager and all the incredible staff, I’m just immensely proud of them, really. I don’t even think of myself as a former player anymore – I just see myself as an absolute fan.

Are there any moments from the tournament so far that stick out as your favourite?

There have been so many, but I think one of my favourite moments was Ella Toone’s goal in the semi-final match against Australia because I feel like she’s had a bit of a rough time and it’s been tough for her, but her finish was brilliant and she’s put in a big shift.

We’ve also had Lauren James doing her magic and stepping on the scene for her first tournament, but probably the best moment was when the whistle went and we knew the team was through to the final because it was a ‘finally!’ moment.  

How would you say your experience as a Lioness compares to where the team are now?

I’m not privy to what goes on behind closed doors at training, but what I would say is that the support team looks a lot bigger than what we had. And that’s what I would expect for the European champions – to be well-resourced and to be given the best support.

It’s an example of what I argued in my review [a report commissioned by the UK government into the future of domestic football, which was published earlier this year]. When you give people the right support and the right funding, look what happens – it’s no coincidence. And I’m not saying it’s all about money, because we have pure talent in the team as well. But I think there’s so much talent across women’s football that can’t come through because it’s just not resourced enough. But when you bring the combination of both you get pure gold – hopefully, we’ll see that on Sunday.

Whatever happens on Sunday, what impact do you hope the Lionesses’ success will have on women’s football in the long run?

I personally don’t think we capitalised on the team’s success enough post-Euros – winning the European Championships was unbelievable and it was in the forefront of people’s minds for the first couple of weeks, and I think we changed perceptions massively. But I don’t think we capitalised on it enough beyond that.

If the team wins on Sunday – regardless of if they win or not, actually – what they’ve done is extraordinary, and I think as a community of players, professionals, sponsors, media and broadcasters, we’ve got to capitalise on that. I thought we would have seen more of a boom in young players getting involved post-Euros and I think we’ve got to take lessons from that and make sure it happens this time around by making facilities available for the kids that are inspired, introducing more grassroots football and ensuring the opportunities are there. I also think we need to change gender biases in schools.

So, I hope we’ll capitalise more on the success post-Sunday. I’m confident that we’ll win, and the team will come back as European Championship winners and World Cup winners, and if we don’t capitalise on that, we’ve messed up. 

What are the main barriers stopping more women and girls from getting involved?

So many people are going to watch the Lionesses this Sunday – or have done already – and be inspired to play. But let’s take young girls, for example – so many young girls will now see the team play and say they want to be the next Lauren James, Alessia Russo or Ella Toone, but we’ve got to have the facilities to allow them to do that. We’ve got to have more facilities that are adequate enough for young girls, that have toilet provisions, sanitary provisions and a safe environment.

That’s why I was so keen to partner with Powerleague to provide free football training sessions for young girls. I’m so passionate about this kind of stuff because it was evident from my review that there just aren’t enough places for girls to get involved. And again, it starts at school as well. I think at school we have to do better, especially when it comes to tackling gender biases and providing opportunities.

We’ve got all this amazing stuff happening that’s at the forefront of people’s minds and who want to have the opportunity to play, but the first barrier is at entry level, so we’ve got to get better at that.

As well as increasing participation on the pitch, it would be great to see more women participating off the pitch, too – as pundits, managers, coaches, support staff, fans etc. How do you think we could do that?

Again, I think it’s everyone’s responsibility. It’s literally that saying – see it to be it. And I think we’ve just got to keep creating that narrative to show people that there are opportunities out there and people can do it if they want to.  

What would you say to a little girl who is watching the match on Sunday and dreams of getting involved?

My message would just be, ‘You can do it,’ because my experience was similar. I watched Marta [Vieira da Silva] play in her first World Cup when I was younger and said, ‘I want to do that,’ and literally four years later I played in my first World Cup.

If we give people good opportunities, they absolutely can do it. I have every belief that there will be a future Lioness watching the game on Sunday; we’ve just got to give them the chance to be great. And that’s what I want to see more of – I want us to dominate women’s football globally for the next 10 years, to have what the USA had when they just won back-to-back. Or what Germany had when they just dominated. I want us to churn out Lionesses for fun – that’s the dream. 

Karen Carney teamed up with Powerleague to offer 100 hours of free playing time for grassroots girls’ youth clubs who don’t have access to suitable facilities. You can find out more on the Powerleague website. Available at all 41 venues.

Images: Getty