The Pride of the Lionesses: The Changing Face of Women's Football in England

by Carrie Dunn

While England's Lionesses headed to France for the 2019 Women's World Cup as superstars in search of silverware, FA upheavals back home were moving the goalposts for the newly all-pro elite teams, for part-timers and amateurs alike. Is women's football in England actually growing from top to bottom - or is it just another slick PR campaign?

Genres: Nonfiction, Football

288 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2019

Reviews

[Chris Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an absolutely brilliant and fascinating, if sometimes shocking, read. Pride of the Lionesses focuses upon one season in women’s football, as the top tier of English women’s football turned professional in 2018. The book explores both the positives and negatives, demonstrating the impact from the top tier right down to grassroots football, and at times the impact is surprising. Throughout the book you read not just of the ‘normal’ football problems where money doesn’t trickle down to grassroots, but how even those in the top tier had to make difficult decisions as going professional was still not financially viable for many, and carried risks associated with relegation and subsequent job loss. It’s staggering to read and remind yourself of the equivalent tiers in men’s football, and to consider that this was 4 years ago, not a decade ago! The book doesn’t just focus on the top tiers though, and you follow the season through the eyes of clubs at all levels, allowing you to really understand the impact of the changes to the game.
At times I struggled with the ‘writing’ - it’s a book of interviews really, and at times was a bit ‘jumpy’ but overall a really great, and enlightening, read.

[j m spooner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just finished reading a book published following on from the 2019 world it illustrates how the face of the game was changing then and how much quicker it is changing now. As with her first book an interesting read across all points of the pyramid.

[Jess Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book wasn’t what I thought it would be. I expected to read stories about the Lionesses but instead there was lots about lower level womens teams in England. It was a well researched and written book but just not what I was after.