Women's football in Italy
Saturday, July 9, 2022
Article summary
Success at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, a big jump in participation levels and booming audience figures highlight the groundswell of momentum in Italy.
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History
Renewed vigour
Italy were pioneers in the women's game, their top clubs attracting foreign talents as far back as the 1980s and the national team an early powerhouse, reaching at least the semi-finals in the first five editions of the UEFA Women's EURO. Finishing runners-up in 1993 and 1997 remains the peak, but women's football is on the rise again, with big viewing figures for the national team and a 13.6% increase in participation between 2018 and 2021. Indeed, Serie A Femminile is set to go fully professional in 2022/23 – a first for Italian women's sport.
Best UEFA competition performance
Senior: UEFA Women's EURO runners-up (1993, 1997)
Youth: UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship winners (2008)
Role model
Sara Gama captained Italy to the 2008 Women's U19 EURO title and has more than fulfilled her promise with over 100 senior caps and club honours in double figures. A Modern Languages graduate fluent in English, French and Spanish, she is outspoken in pushing for equality on and off the pitch. In 2018, the famous doll brand Barbie included Gama in their 'Shero' line, based on inspirational real-life women.
"It's my target to be a model for a new generation of girls who want to break down barriers in sport which often exist in everyday society too."
Milestone moments
On the pitch…
Italy reached their first Women's World Cup in 20 years in 2019 and their quarter-final run inspired a new generation of fans, with 4.6 million tuning in to watch them defeat China in the round of 16.
… and off it
In March 2015, the FIGC approved a new plan for growing women's football, paving the way for initiatives that have included a government law passed in 2019 which ensured that Serie A will turn fully professional in 2022/23.
Game changer
The 2019 World Cup run, and the crowd of nearly 40,000 that watched Juventus beat Fiorentina in a league game earlier that year, demonstrated the growing interest in a new crop of stars able to stand aside the like of Carolina Morace and Patrizia Panico in the pantheon. The bumper attendance at the 2022 UEFA Women's Champions League final in Turin was further proof, and the FIGC's 'Our tomorrow, now' campaign aims to keep that going.
Here and now
Joining the game in Italy
Are you interested in playing women's football?
Find out how to play where you are with the help of #WePlayStrong.
Trailblazers exhibition
"Trailblazers" is a unique exhibition that showcases the work of European artists given a blank canvas to celebrate women’s football. UEFA invited artists from participating nations in this summer’s tournament to create an image inspired by the game in their country. Italy's representative is Sara Liguori: "To create this illustration, I listened to many speeches by various Italian players. The thing that struck me was that all of them, more than personal achievements, focused on what the movement is creating and how it is evolving. Sisterhood is just that for me, women for other women, no matter where we will arrive as singles, the important thing is what we achieve together in the service of our sisters, for those who are already here and for those who will arrive."
Investing for the future
Italian Football Association (FIGC) women's football strategy
The outlined its women's football objectives in a strategy document for 2021–2025: from success for the national teams to a 50% increase in the number of registered girls, as well as competitiveness, professionalism, and sustainability.
By 2025 the FIGC aims to:
* Increase the number of girls playing football by 50%
* Achieve greater international success for its women's teams
* Deliver thriving leagues and competitions
* Grow the fanbase supporting the women's game
* Develop a commercially sustainable Serie A with professional players
Download the FIGC's strategy for women's and girls' football 2021–2025
Women's Football Development Programme (WFDP)
Since 2010, UEFA's WFDP has provided associations with funding and tools to increase participation, improve standards and build infrastructure to help keep the female game growing. One example of a project funded by the WFDP programme in Italy is…
Youth activity enhancement programme (2016–20)
This initiative focused on a grassroots programme for the development of U15 players. It aimed to increase opportunities and empower women in technical and managerial roles, develop training programmes to improve the technical and scientific skills of those working in women's football, and to promote girls' football.
The number of players in women's U15 regional teams more than doubled, while those attending the programme who went on to be selected for youth national teams increased from 30 to 90 per year. There was a 19% rise in the total of registered female players and the number of women's youth teams climbed from 108 to 320, in addition to a 28-fold increase in the number of parents attending educational meetings.