Emma Hayes believes professional women’s football is a “middle-class sport” which has allowed a generation of inner-city talent to be lost to the game. Describing the European champion Lionesses as a “homogenised” side, the Chelsea manager argues the current system of academies, often located in suburban green spaces, should be abandoned in favour of bringing coaching and development into the city.
“Women’s football is quite a middle-class sport in my opinion,” Hayes said. “In terms of the locations, the pedigree of player, they’re often coming from suburban belts around the training grounds. They’re not the Alex Scotts, the Rachel Yankeys, the Anita Asantes. They’re not coming to our facilities in the same way and you’ve got to ask yourself the question: why?
“Look at the number of footballers that came out of south-east London and into the England men’s team; an unbelievable number. Why aren’t they in the women’s side? I often ask that question [at Chelsea]. They’re all from Surrey. They’re the most talented kids in Surrey. But are they the most talented kids around? I beg to differ.
“Why aren’t we going into London? Why aren’t we hosting our academies right in the heart of London? Who in their ivory tower has been dreaming up this prawn sandwich girls football club?”
Hayes coaches England’s latest star, the east London-born Lauren James, but says she was astonished at the lack of diversity in last year’s victorious England side. The absence of black players in the team, with only three in the squad, was the subject of intensive debate over the tournament.
“What you have is this homogenised team, which is a fabulous team, but where’s its diversity? Where is it?”
Hayes believes that Karen Carney’s government-commissioned inquiry into the future of women’s football offers a chance to think differently. She argues that travelling to academies is prohibitive for girls. Hayes also says that incentivising clubs to nurture talent from cities – by offering the protection of compensation should a player be poached by another club – could help to reset the dial.
“Girls don’t travel,” Hayes said. “Boys in the academy game either have parents who will take them somewhere or they’ll get on trains to do it. Families won’t let their girls go to games [by themselves]. It’s going to have to be parent-led and kids coming from the city, often their parents are working and might not have the same [opportunity].
“So our starting point should be … that if you want a diverse group involved with our game at an elite level then perhaps we should be travelling into the cities in a more profound way. But why are you going to do that if you don’t have player protection, if you’re investing into something where you could lose a player at any point? Both have to be supported.”
The rules of the women’s game do not mandate the payment of training compensation should a young player leave one academy for another.
“We have to drive the direction of the professional game or our brands into the cities across the country, and I’m not just talking about London,” Hayes said. “Equally if the investment is to go in then you have to have protection too.”
