Flanagan's Football Files

So here we are, England’s Lionesses have reached their third consecutive European Championship final, an achievement no other national team, male or female, has managed in this country. That’s history being made before our eyes.

Over the last few years, women’s football has grown rapidly, not just in performance but in popularity and presence. All the big clubs are now playing their women’s matches at their traditional home grounds. Look into the crowds, it’s families, it’s affordable, and more importantly, it’s accessible. Young fans today can watch, meet, and be inspired by their heroes in ways that just aren’t possible in the men’s top-flight game anymore, where ticket prices and limited access create a real barrier.

What stands out most to me is how approachable and grounded the women players seem. They look like they’re genuinely enjoying what they do. There’s no diving, no rolling around pretending to be hurt, it’s honest football. It reminds me of non-league football, real, heartfelt, passionate. The kind of football many of us fell in love with as kids, and which young fans today are rediscovering through the women’s game.

Even in how they celebrate goals or speak in interviews, there’s a sincerity that takes you back to the early days of the men’s game, when players played for the love of it, not the paycheck. That joy is infectious, and it’s something we’re missing in the modern men’s game.

Don’t get me wrong, the men’s game is technically brilliant, probably the best it's ever been in terms of skill and athleticism. But it feels like a business now. The players are like fine-tuned machines, clocking in for work. That love, that raw passion, just doesn’t shine through anymore. At least not to me.

I’ll be honest, I fell out of love with top-level football when the Premier League era began. All the glitz, glamour, and money turned it into a spectacle more like American sports. Since then, I’ve gravitated towards non-league football, where the soul of the game still lives. I still love football deeply, but I just can’t sit through a live Premier League or Champions League match on TV anymore.

But the WSL? I can sit and watch it, enjoy it, and feel connected to it. And I don’t say that because it’s ‘women’s football.’ I say it because it’s a better, more enjoyable experience. It’s refreshing. It’s real.

Some of you might be surprised to hear this from me, knowing how passionate I am about my club and the league. But this is the honest truth.

It’s often said that a ‘woman’s touch’ can change the game, and in many male-dominated sports, that’s exactly what’s happened. We’ve seen it in football, cricket, rugby, boxing, women have brought a new energy, a breath of fresh air.

People have said for years that women are the stronger sex. I’m not here to debate that. But when you look at the rise of women’s sport, the evidence speaks for itself. And I truly believe this is only the beginning. In the future, it might be the men’s game that takes a back seat to the women’s—and as crazy as that may sound, it’s not as far-fetched as it once was.

Thanks for reading.

J. Flanagan