But it's not just women's football that's enjoying momentous growth. Rugby, cricket and netball have seen record-breaking crowds this year, vast increases in TV viewing figures and new sponsorship deals, with England's women's sides enjoying unprecedented success - far more so than their male counterparts.
So how should we now refer to these championships? Is it time to drop the "women's" descriptor? World Rugby did this in 2019 when, in a first for a major sports federation, the women's designation was dropped, and the tournament was renamed the Rugby World Cup 2021. But can that really work across all sports?
If I asked a stranger about Arsenal, the Champions League or the England football team, they'd assume I was talking about the men. With men's sport having taken precedence for the past 150 years, it's little wonder that when we hear, in a sports bulletin, that "England have won the Six Nations" we automatically assume it's the men (though that statement is far more likely to be true of the women, who have won that tournament 20 times compared with the men's seven victories).
This story is from the August 25, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the August 25, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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