A former soccer coach says the “rapid increase in sexism” led her to quit the sport.
But the woman, who asked to remain anonymous, hopes other girls and women are not discouraged by her experience.
She was speaking as part of a new investigation by anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out, which found “shocking” levels of misogyny and abuse against women in football.
It found that 80% of 115 respondents with qualifications ranging from Football Association Level 1 to UEFA A Licence had experienced sexism or misogyny in a coaching environment.
More than half of those questioned said they had considered quitting coaching because of gender discrimination.
The survey also found that 70% of respondents had faced sexism or misogyny while taking a coaching course.
Kick It Out has educational resources on tackling sexism and misogyny, and says it has seen a “surge in reports of sexism and misogyny” more broadly within the game.
Kick It Out chief operating officer Holly Varney told BBC Sport: “It's truly shocking that so many women are facing sexism and misogyny.”
“At a time when the women's game is experiencing significant growth, it is surprising that more than half of the coaches surveyed said they had considered quitting because of sexism,” Barney said. Ta.
“While many of the women we spoke to shared a passion and love for coaching, they also spoke of the exhaustion of being regularly belittled, questioned and ignored in a coaching environment. Ta.
“To increase the number of women in coaching, football needs to take sexism seriously and we hope the findings of this study will help make coaching a more welcoming space for women. ”
“I had all this trauma” – Case Study
A woman who spoke to BBC Sport said her worst experience was during a Football Association coaching course.
“I was the only woman on the course,” she says. “And I described what happened to me as grooming and sexual abuse. I didn't understand what that was at the time.”
She felt unable to fully report what had happened to her, but lodged a complaint with the FA for abuse of power.
“I have taught in a variety of settings, including community academies, and have experienced what could be described as a sliding scale of sexism,” she said.
“I've experienced verbal assault, physical assault, and the comments that come with it. You know, the parents of the players that I coach, comments that I coach, comments from opposing coaches, Microaggressions that many female coaches may be aware of, such as when you show up on game day and the opposing manager or coach completely ignores you, walks straight past you, and goes to the nearest Walking up to a man, even if it's the father of one of the players, you know, that's pretty serious abuse.
“I was trying to build a career. I wanted a career as a football coach. I wanted to make it my full-time job.
“I wanted to make a good impression, I wanted to do the right thing, and it's very difficult to say no to people in power.
“There was an investigation. I don't think it was handled in the best way at the time. If the same thing were to happen today, it would have been handled differently.”
She felt unable to fully report what had happened to her, but lodged a complaint with the FA for abuse of power.
An FA spokesperson said: “Incidents of sexism, misogyny and abuse have no place in football or society as a whole. We were deeply concerned when the allegations were brought to our attention.”
“Following a full and thorough investigation into the allegations at the time, we made the decision to terminate the individual's contract.
“We will not tolerate this type of behavior in football and if you are a victim or witness to an incident of this nature, please report it to the FA or the relevant authorities so that they can investigate and take necessary action. “I strongly request that” was taken. ”
The woman said she felt “really inspired” in a football environment as a result of her experiences and ultimately quit coaching.
As for what she would like to see happen next, she said: “First and foremost, it's about cleaning up the store and removing the men who are engaging in harmful behavior in environments like this. This sends a very clear message to others. ” behavior will not be tolerated.
“I encourage girls and women to get coached because I hope that together we can create that environment. But when I started my coaching journey I wish I had done that before.
“There’s actually a really strong, healthy, supportive network of women coaches out there and we’re not alone and we can support each other.”
