– It becomes almost excessively symbolic when the only colored player enters in the 119th minute to save time, says news’s sports commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt. The English lionesses secured a historic EC gold after a dramatic final against Germany on Sunday. But it is not just words of praise that fall to the new masters. The English footballer Anita Asante with a Ghanaian background is among those who are critical of the diversity in the team. – Lack of diversity in the English women’s national team stops many girls’ dreams, writes Asante in a comment for The Guardian. When the English players defeated Norway in the group stage with the number 8-0, TV commentator for BBC and Sky Sports, Eilidh Barbour, said the following: – All eleven players who started, and the five substitutes who came in were white, and that points to a breach in diversity in women’s football in England. France stand out On France’s European Championship team, the situation is a little different. – In the French team, we have a diversity that may not exist in the other teams. It is our strength and I think it is good for our country, says France’s Kadidiatou Diani to Aftonbladet. GREATER DIVERSITY: France’s starting line-up in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands. Photo: CARL RECINE / Reuters The PSG player was born into a family with origins in Mali. – All little girls in France can identify with players from our national team. Sami where we come from are all French and proud to represent their country. – There was recognition for women’s football in France much earlier than in other countries, and they have also given opportunities to girls with a different background. They are many years ahead of us, says news’s commentator. PSG star: Kadidiatou Diani celebrates after scoring against Germany in the semi-finals of the European Championship. Photo: Alessandra Tarantino / AP Several big nations struggle If you look at England’s men’s team, which also played in the EC final a year ago, there is a big difference from the women’s team. Eleven of the 26 players in the EC squad had a background that was not English. The English Football Association can understand the criticism and thinks it is important to share the work they are doing to find solutions to the problem. – We recognize that a change will not happen overnight. But we can assure you that in the future we will do everything in our power to get a greater diversity in our youth teams with players who will later enter the senior level, says Kay Cassington in the English Football Association to ESPN. But it is not just the English women’s national team that is struggling with integration. Germany’s team before the semi-final against France. The Netherlands’ team before the quarter-final against France. Norway’s starting line-up before the decisive group stage match against Austria. Germany’s men’s national team. Netherlands men’s national team. Norway’s men’s national team. – Look at Germany. Look at the Netherlands. Look at Norway, says Saltvedt. – The best nations have clearly failed to include an integration process into football in the same way as the men. – We are not close The Norwegian Football Association has itself admitted that they are struggling to get girls with an immigration background to play football. – It’s just a matter of acknowledging that we don’t have enough girls with a multicultural background, such as football. Many different things have been tried, but the code has not been broken, admitted football president Lise Klaveness to news. There were no immigrants in the EC squad. Maria Thorisdottir is the daughter of Thorir Hergeirsson from Iceland, while Celin Bizet Ildhusøy has a mother from Cuba. It is the closest Norway comes to diversity in the squad. – The situation is exactly the same with our wonderful J-19 national team, where you also don’t see anything that has been successful on the men’s side. The national law on the women’s side does not reflect Norwegian society. We are not close by, says Saltvedt. – The Norwegian Football Association seems almost empty of ideas for what they can do? – Resources must be set aside for the education of trainers with a cultural background. We must reduce barriers when it comes to coming to training at the times that suit. There must be a greater acceptance of different clothing. The will is not good enough, no matter what we say.
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– Stops many girls’ dreams – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
