WEURO 2017 as catalyst? The narratives of two female pioneers in the Dutch women’s football media complex (2019)

In 2017 the Dutch women’s team won the Women’s European Champions football (WEURO 2017) for the first time in history.

This online article in Soccer & Society explores the meanings given to gender and sport and the impact of WEURO 2017 by turning to two women pioneers in the field of elite women’s football and the sports media complex.

The authors not only study how these women negotiate and experience the impact and meanings given to WEURO 2017 but we also explore how their narratives provide insights in the wider meanings given to (the development of) women’s football in the Netherlands.

Results show, amongst other things, how an increased popularity and attention for women’s football from the part of the media goes together with a reproduction of hegemonic discourses that prioritize emphasized femininity and construct men’s football as normative.