The Roar of the Lionesses: Women’s Football in England

Millions watched the 2015 Women’s World Cup as the England Lionesses roared in Canada, winning bronze. Their fighting spirit and fabulous skill captured the fascination of the entire country as their campaign unfolded in the small hours of the 2015 summer mornings. On the back of this success, attendances in the FA Women’s Super League increased, as interest in women’s football accelerated. Top stars talked enthusiastically about the dawn of a new era for women’s football. Carrie Dunn spent a year following some of the most famous - and not so famous - female footballers in the country, to see what the future holds for women’s football. Can the smaller, lower-profile teams ever compete with the big bucks and big names of the Women’s Super League? How are grassroots clubs going to rise to the top when elite divisions of women’s football depend on the award of licences? Can the women win a World Cup before the men do? And if they do, what reward and recognition will they get? Roar of the Lionesses tells the tale of an increasingly popular, yet still woefully underrepresented sport.