Former Lioness Lianne Sanderson retired seven years ago, with the women’s game transforming since then.
Women’s football is a lot different now than it was just seven years ago, when Lianne Sanderson announced her retirement from playing professionally. The 37-year-old now has a successful career in punditry, but made her name playing for the likes of Arsenal, Boston Breakers over in the USA, and, of course, England.
In that time, she won seven titles, including the Women’s Champions League and four Women’s FA Cups. She was part of the England team that reached the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup in Canada.
That set the tone for the current crop of Lionesses. After making history in 2022 by winning the European Championships, England retained their title last summer. The success has helped propel the women’s side of the game to a new audience, with eyes now turning to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
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“In 2022, when they won it, we saw the amount of fans that came to Wembley, and I think everybody’s kind of fallen in love with the Lionesses because we’ve won,” Sanderson exclusively told the Mirror. “You only had to see at Buckingham Palace at the parade (this summer). I was there, I was working, and it was amazing.
“I just feel so emotional when I see all these crowds. And I think, you know, people say, ‘Oh, we’re going to win the World Cup, Leanne.’ It doesn’t always work like that.
“I hope that we do, but at the same time, like I’m hoping that if we do win again, there’ll be an even bigger celebration, you know, at Buckingham Palace, because it was amazing, like seeing Sarina dancing with Burna Boy. Nobody had that on their cards at all.”
It’s manager Sarina Wiegman who has led the team to success, with Sanderson praising her approach.
She added: “I just wish I played for Sarina Wiegman because she’s the type of coach that, you know, Dutch culture is quite blunt anyway, and I love that about them.
“To the point, players know their roles and responsibilities. You might not like it, but you have to respect it because she’s been open and honest.
“And I think the Lionesses now have great strength in depth, and I think Sarina Wiegman has obviously been a major catalyst for the success as well.”
The success of the Lionesses has helped the sport grow massively in just a few years, but what else has been key to the growth of not only the international game but also the domestic one?
Once, it was just the FA Cup final shown on TV, but now fans have the choice of watching every Women’s Super League match live, either on TV or on YouTube. That’s aiding a better understanding of players and what they bring to the table, according to Sanderson.
“I think it’s the visibility. You know, TV companies, radio companies, people being able to visibly see the games and can make their own judgments on players,” she said. “I think that was lacking.
“There were some players, say, say for example, Keira Walsh, right? Jayne Ludlow, she’s the equivalent of when I played. Jayne Ludlow, anyone who played against her will know how great she is, but we had one game on a year, right?
“Keira Walsh, similar type of player, leads by example, gets everything she deserves because people can see the games. Not everyone’s just looking at, ‘Oh, who scored?’
“In the women’s game before, you just had to look, you’d have to look on your phone or teletext back in the day, and you’d see who scored and who got the assist, and you’d think, ‘Oh, they must have had a good game.’ No one would look at it in its entirety, whereas I think now, you can see the games.
“People might flick onto a Lionesses game, they might not even be wanting to watch, they said to me, ‘Do you know what, Leanne, I’ve never watched women’s football before, and I came across it, and I absolutely love it.
“The product has always been there, I promise you. We won the quadruple in 2007. We had a top side. It wasn’t that we were playing against poor teams.
“But the visibility wasn’t there as much. For Arsenal fans, it was. But I think now all the games are on, people can see, people can make their judgments.
“People can also have an opinion on the players individually and the coach, which I’ve welcomed. Not, not nasty criticism, obviously, but critique in the women’s game the way that men’s game is critiqued, and I welcome that.”
The importance now is for the growth to continue. More TV coverage means more eyes on the game, but last season saw a drop of around 10% in attendances for WSL games compared to the year before.
Sanderson believes that last summer’s Olympics could have had a positive impact. She has also emphasised the need for broader coverage.
She said: “My only concern is there’s been a lot of drop-off in the WSL attendances this year, and I think sometimes we have when there’s been a major tournament, there’s a, there’s this massive rush, isn’t there?
“I think Team GB not being in the Olympics had a domino effect on the league because people couldn’t watch the players.”
“I think I want to see, you know, the lower teams getting a little bit more kind of credit, more kind of eyes on them, not just focusing on the top teams and also the players that play in the championship and, you know, there’s a league below the WSL that doesn’t really get spoken about that much, and that is highly competitive,” she added.
“You can’t predict who’s going to get promoted, who’s going to get relegated, although that changed this year because there’s no relegation. So, you know, there’s a lot of different things going on. But I do think we’re in a great spot with the women’s game, and hopefully that can continue.”
While growth has been rapid over the last few years, it is hoped that it will accelerate in the years to come. That could be aided with England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales making a joint bid to host the 2035 World Cup.
Sanderson believes that the women’s game and the players are ready to take the next step
“I think we’re better equipped now. You know, the girls have seen, there’s more security that’s needed at games based upon, you know, fans wanting to get close to them because they become, I don’t believe in overnight success, but let’s call it that to a certain degree. Some players, people had never even heard of before they won the Euros. They win the Euros, and people are standing outside their house.
“So, a lot of those players’ lives changed overnight. And I think now everyone in its entirety is more equipped for that in the women’s game.”
