Why is Women’s Soccer Less Popular than Men’s?

Have you heard of Cristiano Ronaldo? You probably have, but have you heard of Mia Hamm? I doubt it. Hamm had a successful professional soccer career scoring 158 international goals, yet why does barely anyone know who she is? Why is it that women sports tend to be less popular? Let’s take a look at women’s soccer.

A lot of our perspectives on women’s soccer come from the media. Maggie Mertens, a journalist whose work focuses on women and millennials stated, “Men’s sports are going to seem more exciting. They have higher production values, higher-quality coverage, and higher-quality commentary. When you watch women’s sports, and there are fewer camera angles, fewer cuts to shot, fewer instant replays, yeah, it’s going to seem to be a slower game, [and] it’s going to seem to be less exciting.”

Many believe that women sports, such as soccer and basketball, will never be popular because men are faster, stronger, and more athletic. However, sports that highlight the strengths of female athletes, such as volleyball and tennis are popular.

Before 1972, one in 27 girls would play sports, however, the proportion of girls who play sports has become two in five. This might make you think that the coverage of women’s sports has also increased, but it’s the opposite. To make matters worse, there has been a decline over the last few years.

Since the viewership isn’t the highest, it results in low salaries, which is unfair. A female soccer player puts as much work as a male soccer player. Alex Morgan, a very successful women’s soccer player, has a net worth from 450 thousand to 3 million USD, while Victor Moses, an average soccer player, has a net worth of approximately 20 million USD.

At the end of the day, if people aren’t interested in women’s soccer, you can’t do anything about it. However, the truth is, many people don’t even know about women’s soccer. If media outlets invest more in women’s soccer, it might bring more attention and interest to the viewers. This is just one of the many possible ways that can increase people’s interest in women’s soccer. The women’s world cup begins on Friday, June 7 to Sunday, July 7 in 2019. I encourage all of you to watch!