Alex Scott has said while women’s football has progressed a lot since she first started playing, there is still a long way to go until the game is “where we want it to be”.
The broadcaster and former England and Arsenal defender was speaking before being inducted into the Women’s Super League Hall of Fame.
She was inducted alongside former players Steph Houghton and Gilly Flaherty and referee Rebecca Welch.
The 40-year-old, who retired in 2018, won 22 trophies across several spells with the Gunners and has gone on to be a trailblazer in sports broadcasting.
She said on being inducted: “What is special for me is yes, this is our night but over the last two years we are seeing the generation before us also being honoured. Before there was no coverage on TV for them to get their moment or England caps and for them to shine.
“It is great to see those who pushed the game forward for our generation before we were doing it for the generation 1736871751 where they go into academies and where they are being signed, they are going straight into a professional environment. It is incredible.
“It is still that responsibility to know that women’s football is an amazing place but it is still not where we want it to be. The generation now, yes it is professional, you have the income and the environment around you but we still want to make it even better and slicker for the next gen coming through.”
And she added: “It wasn’t always about selling out the Emirates and that being great. It took a long time to get here and celebrate it.
“I think in a way we need to make people understand that yes we went through that and that isn’t us complaining about it, it’s just understanding this is why we’re here. This is why we need to continue to fight for more and not be satisfied with where we are at.”
Scott, who in FourFourTwo’s view is one of the best WSL pioneers, has previously spoken about having to work in the Arsenal laundry room alongside football in the earlier part of her career as she wasn’t fully professional.
The English top-flight is now a professional league with top players like Sam Kerr being paid hundreds of thousands a season.
However, the women’s game is not on par with the men’s in terms of wages, grounds or refereeing. VAR is not in use in the WSL and referees are mostly part-time.
Scott, who was the first Lioness to be on a reality TV show when she competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2019, said on how important the WSL Hall of Fame is: “I think for me it takes everything back to where it all started.
“People have seen me on their TV screens and there are things I have managed to do in my broadcasting career but for me this reminds everyone that I had an incredible career with Arsenal which I am so blessed about, we managed to win a lot of trophies and really help women’s football get to the place it is today. The reason I am doing what I am now it because of what I did then.”
