Being a football fan is sometimes a birthright, more than a choice; teams are passed down through generations, along with stories of great wins, great players, and sometimes of trauma and pain.
It is more than a sport, it’s a community. Fans have unspoken connections with others all around the world, all feeling the same great highs and lows.
Football, or soccer to some, is the most popular sport in the world. Its global appeal is vast, reaching an estimated 3.5 billion fans. Despite its origins tracing back to Ancient Greece, China and Rome, the sport is known best for its connection to England.
The official formation of The Football Association (FA) took place in 1863, establishing the official system of rules and the beginning of a global sporting industry.
![Image of 1930's women's soccer team: Valencia, España
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[Unsplash: Biblioteca Valenciana Nicolau Primitiu]
Women have always been involved with football. In fact, Mary, Queen of Scots, owned the oldest football in existence during her reign and was a fan of the sport. In the late 1880s, after the formation of the FA, women’s football matches were officially established.
Over the next forty years, the game grew, and according to the FA, “During and after the War, Dick and Kerr Ladies toured the country playing charity games to raise money for injured servicemen.”
However, like in many aspects of history, women were dismissed and overlooked. Following the war, in 1921, women were banned from playing football, with the FA stating, “the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.”
This signalled the beginning of a long battle for women to be accepted within the sport.
Following the ban on female football, many female fans began supporting the men’s teams. Female fans have always existed within the game, but have faced a variety of challenges that male fans have not.
Women make up an estimated 26% of match-going fans and make up nearly half of match attendees under 40 at men’s events.
This number has increased in the last few years, partially due to the increase in the FA and other organisations’ promotion of women within football. However, it isn’t always simple.
The latest football stats show an 18% increase in the number of football matches with reported incidents (of violence, drug offences and racism) across England and Wales. Along with these, the Guardian reported that, “According to Kick It Out’s data, reports of sexism and misogyny rose by 67% in [2024-25], up from 115 to 192.”
The rise in reported incidents is in part due to an increased awareness of the tools available and a demand for change. Despite this increase in awareness, it is clear that the issues are still prevalent.
For me, football has always been the central point in my life. Since I was a baby, football has been more than a sport – scheduling plans around games, knowing all the players, new and old. Even the year I was born is remembered mostly as the year that Liverpool won their fifth Champions League.
But it hasn’t always been easy. Being a woman/girl growing up interested in men’s football has and is still, at times, frustrating and uncomfortable.
In school, I was often dismissed if I attempted to engage in conversation about football; I was never encouraged to play or go to games. Despite our close bond over the sport now, my dad never included me in ‘football chat’ until I had worked hard to learn everything I could to keep up.
As a woman in football, it is hard not to feel isolated at times. So, when I discovered a group called the Fulham Lilies while watching an episode of The Overlap Fan Debate, I was intrigued.
Sarah Keig is the co-founder and chair of the Fulham Lilies, a group of female supporters who aim to amplify the presence of women within the club, foster a more diverse fan base, and motivate and empower the next generation of female fans. She is also the Premier League network representative for the Football Sports Association (FSA) and the chair of the ‘Women’s Voice in the Men’s Game’ Network.
In February, Sarah appeared on The Fan Debate, a series by The Overlap on YouTube and on audio streaming services. She discussed her role at the Lilies and how they are encouraging more football teams and supporters to follow their lead.
“I’ve been watching football for 50 years now. In the late 70s and 80s, when I first started going, there was hooliganism, racism, sexism and homophobia. At that time, I was very much a guest. I was a guest in a male environment. I [always] felt that,” Sarah explained.
Over the years, attitudes changed; organisations and campaigns such as Kick It Out and Say No To Racism have been vital in advocating for change and encouraging public discourse around these topics. Still, it hasn’t been completely eradicated.
“After the pandemic, there was a huge increase in anti-social behaviour in the UK as a whole, not just in football, as always happens, football reflects society. I saw that [fans] were starting to increase in sexist behaviours again. And I just was like, ‘Look, I’m not having it, I’ve been there. We nearly got rid of it. I’m not going back to those days.’ So, I decided that I wanted to do something about it,” Sarah tells us.
The increase in sexism at games was the incentive for Sarah to reach out to other fans and demand change. She was elected to the board of the Fulham Supporters Trust, where she met another fan, Haley.
Together, they reached out to the women of the supporters group and other female football fans they knew. They were encouraged to talk about what they loved about being a supporter and what they hated about it.
Many expressed issues with the facilities at the grounds, and others were frustrated with how football kits are marketed as ‘unisex’ but do not cater to women.
After this, they decided to create the Lilies. They found there was a gap in football spaces where women could come together, in part to feel safer, but also to voice their opinions freely.
For many women/girls, it is hard to find a space to be a football fan in the same way men/boys can. Boys are often encouraged to play football at school, leading them to find friends who will go and watch the match with them.
“As women, we don’t have that,” Sarah explained, “Most women that we spoke to said, ‘My dad took me [or] my brother took me [or] my boyfriend took me.’ We had one girl who contacted us, and she’d been with her boyfriend for three years; he was a season ticket holder at Fulham. After two years, she got a season ticket, and she loved it. They eventually broke up, but [she] still wanted to go. But who does [she] go with now?”
Before every home game at Craven Cottage, the Lilies meet at a local tea house close to the ground. It is a way for women who have felt that they couldn’t enjoy football to meet like-minded women and other supporters.
Walking together to the games also tackles any safety concerns. When organising away days, the Lilies can block book a number of tickets to ensure all members can sit together in the ground and have safe journeys to and from home.
The Lilies wanted to be the place to fill the gap for women and girls within football.
Their initiative was the starting point for many other women and groups across the country. The Women of Watford FC were established in 2021, just before the Lilies, and have had hundreds of members join since.
Others include the Garibaldi Girls (Nottingham Forest), the Sheffield Wednesday Women’s Supporters Group, Women of Wimbledon Supporters Association, Amber Belles (Cambridge United), and the Villa Bellas at Aston Villa.
“We made a conscious decision very early on that we would mentor other groups. What we do when we mentor a group is we say, ‘You have to pay this forward. You now have to do [this] with future groups.'”
In recent months, the Lilies have been contacted directly by football teams such as Bournemouth, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Rotherham, and Doncaster to help them establish groups within their supporter bases.
Alongside their work amongst Fulham fans, the Lilies have aims to change Premier League legislation. When one of the Lilies fell pregnant, she wanted to carry on using her season ticket after she had her baby.
However, she quickly discovered that despite her child being ‘strapped to her’ in a sling during the game, she would have to pay a full price ticket of £60 for them. She couldn’t understand how a baby, who wouldn’t even sit in a seat, could be charged £60 for one.
“How [is this] encouraging women to attend? [Because clearly] they can’t,” Sarah explains, “We’ve heard horror stories. There was one mum who’s a Nott’s County supporter, and her team got to the play-off finals at Wembley [whilst] she was breastfeeding. She had a six-month-old. Wembley don’t allow under twos, so her team got to Wembley and never [saw] them play!”
For many parents who cannot find or afford care for their children, going to football games becomes impossible. This can be extremely isolating and detrimental to parents’ mental health, especially when taking into account how social football is.
“We’ve written [an academic report], and we’ve spoken to the British Medical Council, asking what the issues are around taking babies. The Royal College of Midwives, British Medical Association, and Royal College of Nursing [all] said the only issue is the noise. If they’ve got ear defenders on, there’s absolutely no issue taking a baby [to a game],”
The Lillies spoke with women from different clubs across the country to understand the impact of these rules on their lives.
“Going to Villa before kids was everything – my husband and I went home and away every week with friends, and it would completely dominate our weekends,” Rose, an Aston Villa supporter, explained.
“But now everything has changed – I barely go to any games. It’s not just the football you miss out on, but the whole experience. I find myself resenting the football and, to a certain extent, my husband. He still attends all matches, but for me to be able to, the emphasis is on me to arrange a babysitter, and we just don’t have that family support available.”
The Lilies have taken into account safety concerns, but equally, concerns for fans and women who want more than anything to see their teams play.
They aim to strike a balance between safety and inclusivity, where clubs can create an environment that welcomes families while ensuring the well-being of all attendees.
“We want to try and change the culture around young children being allowed to go to football, so there’s better access for parents and for children. We’ve met with the Premier League a couple of times [and] they’re really keen,” Sarah explained.
“We’ve [also] met with Fulham. We’re looking to create a charter that we hope will be signed by all of the Premier League and EFL clubs, so that they will introduce things which will allow women with young children to attend more football matches.”
It has become a project that will take the next few years to accomplish and to see some change, but it demonstrates how important groups like the Lilies are for the future of football.
For Sarah, the work she and the other Lilies do, despite it now being her job, has only strengthened her bond for the sport.
“Match days are still match days. I just go with my mates. We do the meet-up, [and] we all walk together. I’ve got loads of new friends who have come from this,” Sarah told us.
“We have a WhatsApp chat with 100 women in it, and all through the week, different chats are going on. It has brought me closer to football. It’s brought me closer to my club.”
The work that both the Lilies and other groups across the country are doing demonstrates the love that fans and female football fans will always have for the game.
Despite frustration or isolation, walking up to the ground with your friends or the feeling of seeing your team score will always outweigh the bad.
With the increased support of the Premier League, along with charities and other leagues around the world, real change can be made in protecting everyone who wants to go to a game.
Football will always be part of me, and knowing there are other women out there making change only makes me love being a female football fan more.
Featured image courtesy of Laura Gates.