Manchester United’s manager, Casey Stoney, has called on sponsors to treat female players the way they treat male ones and focus on their talent not their looks.
Wayne Rooney is the first that springs to mind, plastered all over advertising materials because of his footballing talent. In all the traditional markers of what makes someone handsome, he is missing most. He was still a sellable commodity, mostly because he had a penis, so his looks were irrelevant when his talent was considered.
As it should be.
When it comes to the women’s game, if you’re less than blessed when it comes to meeting traditional standards of good looks, you’ll find you won’t be treated like the Wayne Rooneys of this world. For a woman to be marketable, she must also meet pre-defined standards of beauty.
Casey Stoney has had enough.
“I get extremely frustrated that female athletes get commercial deals based on the way they look, not based on what they do on the pitch,’ said Stoney. “I’ve seen people get massive deals who’ve barely even kicked a ball in anger for their national team, but because they look a certain way they get a deal.
“Someone who has got 100 caps, scored goals for their country and is extremely talented, but might not have the same look to a commercial partner, isn’t considered.
“This doesn’t happen in the men’s game. In the men’s game, if you’re talented you get your rewards because of your talent.
“I don’t think that it’s just football… that’s women’s sport in general. You see it in tennis, because some of the most successful players ever earn less money than those that maybe are a little bit more attractive.
“That is a frustrating thing for me. I would like the women’s game to be seen through talent, ability on the pitch and what they can do to help their team win.”
Stoney played for Arsenal for a total of five years across two spells, winning the league twice, the FA Cup three times, and three Premier League Cup twice.
She took on the job as Manchester United Women’s manager when the Old Trafford outfit finally got round to forming a team in 2018 – 19 years after Stoney made her debut for The Gunners.
The two sides face each other on Monday night at Leigh Sports Village, where Arsenal will face a number of other familiar faces in Siobhan Chamberlain, Hayley Ladd, and Lauren James who all spent time at the club.