Swansea City’s South Wales Derby win over Cardiff City should be remembered for the right reasons.
Yesterday, Sgorio broadcasted their first televised Welsh Premier Women’s League match as the Swans won 3-0.
The coverage was led by trailblazers like Nicky John who presented the broadcast alongside former Wales internationals Gwennan Harries and Nia Jones, alongside those who also share the positive message in Dylan Ebeneezer and Sioned Dafydd.
It was an historic moment for women’s football in Wales as the domestic league took priority.
Young girls in Wales who were watching were introduced to new names that they could aspire to.
Instead of celebrating such a moment, we are instead focusing on the detractors of women’s football and their comments in reference to the fixture.
A clip of a Cardiff City player missing a goal was well circulated on social media with personal jibes made about the player as well as the standard of women’s football.
These comments are unneeded and not necessary and shouldn’t be dwelled on but they should be dealt with.
Y Clwb Pêl-droed policy will now be that we will now hide the replies and when possible, delete the comments, as well as blocking anyone who makes any derogatory personal comments about anyone involved in women’s football
Social media criticism of the Welsh Premier Women’s League is uncalled for.
Part of it is down due to the frustration of only ‘elite’ football being played in Wales but this is no reason to excuse the vitriol.
All of these clubs are having to abide by stringent protocols to even train and play.
The Cymru Premier and the WPWL are being played because of the protocols put in place.
A battle for European spots are also at stake in both leagues which is why we’re seeing our top flight leagues being played, whilst others lay in waiting.
Clubs in the top flight have more to lose when what is at stake and are able to call on more volunteers to stage these games, albeit behind-closed-doors.
Another side of the haters are those who aren’t aware of how hurtful their comments can be as they hide behind anonymous personas.
We need to stop these direct comparisons about men’s football and women’s football.
Football is football at the end of the day and the players yesterday were playing in the top flight of Welsh football, proudly representing their clubs. Not many footballers can say they’ve played in the top flight of a league.
Ending on a positive note, I attended Abergavenny Women’s match with newcomers Cascade Ladies and it was an entertaining match.
The two sides were competitive and it was actually the most viewed live blog of the day, despite coming up against two Cymru Premier fixtures.
And it was great to have every league game covered yesterday with each contributor treating the matches like they would any other.
As long as the season continues, we’ll be continuing our coverage of the league. When I say we’re the home for Welsh domestic football, I mean that for any level of football.
We’ll be looking to cover as many games as possible in the Welsh Premier Women’s League, as it’s our duty to bring coverage of our national leagues.
So let’s celebrate this moment from Sgorio, who have led the way in their coverage and applaud the league and teams for making the matches happen when months ago we were starved for football.
(Featured Image: Louis James)
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