“Boys love football, girls love football players” is the most offensive quote you’ll ever come across if you’re an ardent football fan of the opposite sex. Every female football supporter has been a victim of sexist remarks at least once in her life. “Oh, so you’re a woman who follows football? Tell me players other than Ronaldo and Messi”, this is one thing most guys (not all) question a lady if she claims to be a football follower. Football is a beautiful game which is followed by millions all over the globe. The fan base is dominated by the males, BUT, there are well-informed female supporters of the game as well, who definitely follow the game as intensely as the men do.
Football isn’t a sexist game, but you will find large groups of males targeting and questioning women for following the sport. No matter how passionate she is, there’s always going to be one man who will offend her by saying, “Football isn’t your sport, go back to the kitchen!” Football doesn’t discriminate on the basis of gender, so such people hold no right in questioning a lady for her love towards the sport. Passion knows no gender. There are females who indeed passionately follow football and possess deep knowledge of the same. Yes, they even know the offside rule so don’t even think of raising a question on it.
“Girls cannot follow football”, “Women do not understand football”, “A lady can never be a true fan’’ – these stereotypes are the silliest ever, I’ve come across. Female supporters of football are as passionate as the male counterparts. They keep up with every football updates, follow every game of their beloved club passionately, show extreme loyalty towards their favourite players and most importantly, THEY UNDERSTAND THE 90 MIN GAME AS GOOD AS THE MALES DO.
The reason why legitimate female supporters of football get defamed is because of certain gang of girlies who simply do not understand the game and just follow it for the sake of players. These are the fake fans who only go bonkers over a player’s looks and wouldn’t know anything about the history of the club or the player’s position. These are the women whose vocabulary is limited to “how hot Neymar looks” or “How cute is Messi”. Yes, term them plastics, term them fake fans, term them whatever you wish to, BUT, do not question or doubt a true female supporter of football because of them. Just because such women are ignorant of football knowledge doesn’t mean the other women who religiously follow the ball game are the same as them.
A woman who ardently follows football knows her beloved club’s history well, she never misses out on any of her favorite football merchandise, she is also as amazing at banter like the other men are, and she never fails to defend her support even when it’s questioned constantly. Football is about respect, too, so why not respect the ladies who follow it enthusiastically and appreciate their support?
Studs over heels, Nike over Zara, jerseys over gowns and matches over movies, that’s how the lives of the legit female football fans roll. But if you try to mock them or label them as plastic fans or pretentious football pundits, be ready to be slapped in the same way how Wayne Rooney treated Wade Barett, a few days ago.