Her Game Too’s West Bromwich Albion branch continue their fight against sexist abuse in football with dedicated fixtures for both the men and women’s teams in honour of International Women’s Day.
Her Game Too launched in May 2021 in a bid to combat sexism within the football industry, ambassadors for the majority of each respective Football League clubs providing a platform for supporters to speak out and report incidents of abuse.
West Bromwich Albion are one of the more recent clubs to join the effort, launching in the new year as the initiative looks ahead to its biggest event through its infancy.
Joint ambassador, Lizzie Hayward, has been delighted with the support the group has received from the club and its supporters following their dedicated men’s Her Game Too fixture against Wigan Athletic at the Hawthorns last week.
She said: “It has been so positive from the Albion I was actually really surprised that there was no negativity whatsoever from our own fans or from the club at all, the club are really pushing for it.
“We know with the Three Degrees that they have tried to raise inclusivity at the club and diversity, with Proud Baggies as well, it just shows that they really do care about their supporters no matter what gender, race, sex they are.”
West Bromwich Albion have become renowned for their continued efforts to break down discriminative barriers in society, dating back to the 1970s with the Three Degrees. The trio of black players, Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson, became club legends in an era dominated by white footballers in what would become a monumental breakthrough to deep-rooted inequality within the sport and society.
Her Game Too aims to ensure inequality and sexist abuse doesn’t go unpunished with misogyny still a pressing issue in the sport, according to a recent HTG survey. 58.4% of respondents reported they had experienced sexist abuse in a football setting, with this reality a major reason for Lizzie’s involvement in the program.
She added: “Down the years because I go to away games quite regularly, or at least I used to, I've suffered quite a bit of sexist comments.
“I remember coming back from Brighton the year they were first in the Premier League and just got loads of abusive comments made on the coach home and it wasn’t very nice at all and just because I’m quite prolific on Twitter as well that, you know, people say some nasty things sometimes just because you’re a woman.”
Her Game Too have continued the push for more women’s football representation too - a key issue for supporters per a Press & Journal investigation - with WBA Women also receiving a dedicated fixture in a historic outing at the Hawthorns.
The Black Country Derby will take place at the home of the men’s team for the first time on March 16, with Jenny Sugarman’s side looking to cause an upset as they welcome promotion favourites Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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