http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/12/football/womens-football-france/ A bit of a misleading title considering France is now a top tier team.
I got a kick out of someone saying "there were big teams like PSG" without mentioning the biggest team of all in women's football... the article actually gives the real reason for the situation almost in passing- while soccer is considered a girls' sport in the USA, here it is the number one sport for men. almost every boy ends up playing at least one year whether he's any good or not or is even interested in the game, football is so prevalent. and for girls the same can be said for ballet. classical dance is a very serious thing here and it drains the biggest portion of the young female population.
Isn't it a problem that women's soccer should await for classic men club such as PSG or Saint-Etienne to grow, then ousting historical women clubs like Juvisy, Soyaux or Saint-Maur ?
That is definitely true. I had no interest in playing football when I was growing up and my mother did sign me up for THREE different kinds of dance classes (ballet, jazz, and I forget what the third was). My brother, on the other hand, was obsessed with playing football until one day he thought he was Messi and tried to do a scissor kick and broke his arm. Even when I started following PSG super closely in like 2003/2004, I never felt compelled to start playing. To this day, I've never actually played. I'll admit that I've probably subconsciously thought I was too feminine for it.
or FC Lyon! OL took over their national powerhouse women's section and the rest is history. for better or worse that's the only way women's football could go professional, there's just not enough revenue to it and probably never will be. it's a difficult transition for some but in the end it's the only way to advance. what's needed is for the FFF to require every pro club to have a feminine section or sponsor a woman's club. similar requirements already exist as concerns youth teams for boys so it's not that revolutionary an idea.
Well its obvious , financial reason aside....Football is still football so to attract more fans women football must point at men's football fans...I mean someone who doesn't like football in general will not be attract by one of the two , just like someone who doesn't like tennis at all will never watch a Federer or Serene Williams match..... I see what you mean , when I was playing football younger the only french female player that I knew was Marinette Pichon because I read about her on a onze mondial and I heard about Juvisy but I had no idea of France league or NT......I mean they never passed on tv or on main football newspapers (I am talking about l'equipe, onze mondial, france football) . In the beginning of the century with internet many things changed in my opinion , a little community found in women football what they missed in men's....pure passion no money...with amateur status it could not have ben different anyway....Also something extremely positive for the future is the fact that nowadays little girls have as football model female footballer, it wasn't the case ten years ago. In fact if you speak with 15/16 y.o girls playing a majority will tell you that their favourite player is Necib or Abily while if you ask Louisa Necib or Camille Abily they certainly tell you male players....probably Zidane for both....French society is changing a sportswomen , a football player in our case, still be considered very feminine and attract fans due to both talent and beauty ....Necib and most of all Boulleau are the proof. You are right. The money will come from the sponsor and the sponsors follow the crowd....women football have to target men's football supporters but it's already starting ..see PSG female section supporters.....when OM will be in D1 our football will reach another dimension, if the product is quality even the last of the macho will match a PSG vs OM au feminin....
very good point about abily and necib becoming the role models they didn't have themselves! the part about the pure passion / no money values fans find in the women's game, that's something that can be found elsewhere and the loyal fan bases of la duchere, red star, and even neighborhood clubs is proof. for women's football there's another factor just in the fact they're women - phallocracy aside, men LIKE women! a LOT in fact and that doesn't have to imply anything erotic or sexual . the point about OM is lap very good - I see more and more fans here that don't come to T10 for any other reason than IT'S OL GODDAMIT! a big opportunity was missed last week when the two derbies were played simultaneously instead of as a double header. there were about 3000 at the U-19 and maybe 1200-1500 for the fenottes but the difference was not male/female but the stadium. but I'm CERTAIN that all the fans at each match would have watched both if possible, and even more.