Okay, forgive the clickbaity title – and yes, I am fully aware of all the possible connotations therein – and yes, there is a serious point about to be made. It’s about more than equality, it’s also about foresight, and how to prevent the perception of tokenism in the first place. It’s also about how one man has (seemingly!) learnt a valuable lesson, one which can serve as a positive example for others who might be keen to avoid the same mistake.

Those of you who know me will already be aware of one of my greatest passions in life – football – especially All Things Liverpool. That’s a given. Those who know me better will remember that I’m proud and thrilled to have been involved with the footballing scene in Northern Sweden a couple of decades ago, specifically with Sunannå SK, a women’s team in the Swedish Premier League (“Damallsvenskan”), as well as the ‘feeder’ team Sörböle, who identifed and nurtured emerging talent in girls. Sort of like their Academy, in more modernist terms. Those who know me best know that once I get a bee under my bonnet, I have to say or write something about it!

I mentioned being proud of my past involvement in the women’s game – I also feel incredibly privileged – because, at the time, Sweden was seen as a trailblazer in recognising the value of elevating the stature of women’s and girl’s football. The aim was, of course, equality and it was often (always?!) an uphill struggle for the game to be be taken seriously, and for all involved to be treated fairly. It still is, in many ways, a struggle.

Even at a time when Sweden was a major contender for world champion status, even in a society considered by many to be progressive and liberal, Sunnanå (and pretty much every other team) faced a constant battle for economic survival. Even with Sunnanå securing the services of the world-renowned US star, Tiffeny Millbrett….Even the mighty Umeå IK struggled, even with its new, young Brazilian talent on board, a woman whose name you might recognise, one that has become synonymous with international footballing fame, the inimitable Marta….whom I had the distinct privilege to try and speak with before she learned either English or Swedish, but I digress!!!

I digressed because I wish to make the clear point that even 20 years later, in the UK, with England’s Lionesses (apologies, Scotland, since the coming story is about a girl’s team in Edinburgh) fresh from the incredible successes of the Wiegman era (back-to-back Euro titles, World Cup finalists, even beating Brazil in the 2023 Finalissima tournament – on penalties no less!) women and girls are still faced with repeated examples of either a careless lack of foresight (at best) or blatant gender discrimination (and worse).

So, what’s precipitated this rant of mine today?

This has. “Are we not good enough?” Girls football team win tiny plastic cup as boys get full-size trophy.

I saw this story today (21.01) on the BBC’s main news landing page. And it’s got me riled…

It’s the summer of 2025 – and a girls team in Edinburgh (from South Morningside Primary School) has just won the prestigious Edinburgh Schools Cup. Their prize? A small plastic trophy. What did the boys get on the same day? A full-sized proper tropy. Read that again.

You can see for yourself in Angie Brown’s telling article exactly how that made the group of girls, aged 10-12, feel. In fact, you don’t really need to (although I recommend you do) – it’s not hard to imagine – the clue’s in Angie’s article’s title. And in mine. It sent a message. The article’s headline image says it all, as team captain Clara Stewart is perfectly framed to emphasise the glaring inequality and some of her teammates faces also paint a picture of incredulity when they should be feeling elated, not deflated.

Now, in all fairnessm it’s very unlikely that the organiser, Willie French (President of the Edinburgh Primary Schools Sports Association), actually intended to upset the girls – and his subsequent action of apparently dipping into his own pocket to rectify the oversight is admirable in its own right. Everyone should be given the opportunity to put an wrong right and it’s good that this story is out there, to maybe trigger some other tournaments to think, “Ah – maybe we’d better check how we’re treating winners…”

Yet one has to ask two simple questions:

1. How come this was not picked up *before* the tournament even took place? 

2. Why on earth did it take 6 months to remedy?

Let’s address each point:

French admits that the girls’ tournament had been running since 1997! That’s a full 5 years before Bend It Like Beckham was released, a film which, incidentally, opened my eyes up and inspired me to get involved. 1997. Yet, 28 years later, the girls are still being offered a poxy little plastic thing, as if to say, “Ah bless – look – they’ve put their Barbies down and are kickin a ball around…” Behave, lads.

If I was the father or coach of one of those girls, I’d be like Caitlin Tierney was “…mad for the whole night” – and longer. It’s not unreasonable to suggest that EPSSA had had plenty of time to spot the disparity, one which was apparently only noticed because (finally) the boys and girls played their finals on the same day, apparently the first time the trohpies were seen next to one another. Really?

Anyway, why so long to fix? This is where it gets a little unclear. Having never commissioned a trophy myself, perhaps that’s just how long it takes to source a supplier and have one made? Maybe the situation only became ‘newsworthy’ (no reflection there on Angie Brown!) when the trophy was finally given to the South Morningside team last week? Who knows?

But what’s absolutely undeniable here is that this should never have happened. Full stop. The girls apparently made it clear on the very day that this was fundamentally not right! Credit has to go to them for their determination to highlight a glaring inequality, one which tainted their sense of achievement yet thankfully didn’t completely diminish it.

Who knows where any one of those gilrs is heading in the game? Maybe one of them will be Scotland’s version of Beth Mead, lifting the Euro trophy in a decade’s time? Maybe another will be the Wiegman of her generation? Whatever they choose to do with their lives, whether it be still involved with football or not, they can be justifiably proud of having stood up to – and then indelibly altered – the circumstances that continue to plague a sport where every centimetre of equality continues to be fought for.

Nowadays, we see women’s teams establishing themselves on more or less equal terms in many aspects when compared with their male counterparts under the same brand – and kudos is due to teams like Arsenal for hosting their women’s matches at the Emirates to record-setting audiences. Other teams continue to share facilities, sponsors, kit suppliers, etc. Yet, I still have to look forward to seeing the Liverpool women’s team play at Anfield one day…

It appears there is still much to do before we see true equality. Some of us had hoped to have seen the last of the bad old days – who can forget Sepp Blatter’s infamous comments about “tighter shorts”, “looking prettier”, playing with smaller goals, etc.?

Lads, it’s simple. It’s the *same sport*, played with the *same rules*, and with the *same passion*. (I was tempted here to write “…with the *same balls* aiming for the *same goals*…) Why not the *same trophies*?

Size matters.