Op Ed - Women's World Cup Must Harness Momentum at Club Level

(ATR) Soccer expert Terry Baddoo says the FIFA Women's World Cup now underway in Germany shows promise but that the club level is where the game must learn to shine.

Baddoo cut his teeth as a broadcaster at BBC and Sky TV in the U.K., then came stateside to anchor CNN's World Sport beginning in 1995.

He did his final sign-off from CNN on March 31.

For those a little cynical about women’s soccer per se the FIFA Women’s World Cup, recently underway in Germany, has so far provided plenty to open the mind. The quality is there: check out Monica Ocampo’s equalizer for Mexico against England or Christine Sinclair’s Beckham-esque strike for Canada against Germany and try to deny those were great goals.

The parity, and therefore the competition, is there. At the time of writing, only France’s 4-0 win against Canada has been a blow-out; otherwise, one or two goals is all that’s separated the teams.

Finally, the crowds are there. The organizers claim more than 700,000 tickets were pre-sold for the 32 games, at the start of which the opener between Germany and Canada set a European attendance record for a women’s match of 73,680. So, certainly, the tournament’s catching the eyes of many, and the women's World Cup is worth watching even if only for the spectacle.

"But it’s still just women’s soccer" goes the chauvinistic cry. Well, yes, that’s true, and obviously, the pace, skill, and tactical ability of the teams involved is at a different level from that seen in the men’s game. However, you have to compare like with like and recognize that you're still seeing the best against the best in terms of what the women’s game has to offer.

Naturally, within that parameter stars will emerge, but the problem for those stars is that beyond the tournament itself there are few big stages to show-off their craft. Women's club soccer is still light years away from the men's version with regards to the interest level, and one wonders where all the fans go in between World Cup extravaganzas. Stars need an audience, and thus far those in charge of marketing the women'sgame at club level have been unable to sustain the momentum that the World Cup provides.

Obviously, there are women's leagues, but their attendance figures barely match those of minor league men's clubs. For example, the top teams in the Frauen Bundesliga, which is the home league for 2-time defending world champions Germany, average just 1,000, and that league is deemed a success! So clearly, when it comes to the pulling power of women’s soccer in general the bar is still set pretty low.

That’s not to deny the players' right to stardom at the World Cup, of course, since, as the saying goes; "It's better to be King (Queen) for a day than schmuck for a lifetime". But the real challenge is to build on the World Cup legacy by creating a stronger domestic league base worldwide so that the stars that do emerge from the World Cup have a fitting place to shine once the tournament is over.

By Terry Baddoo.

Op Ed is a column of opinion and ideas from Around the Rings. Comments, as well as guest columns are welcomed: comment@aroundtherings.com

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