THERE’S a new documentary about to hit our screens on BBC Alba, tracing the little-known Rutherglen Ladies who played football in the 1920s! This is a team full of inspirational, kind-hearted and determined women, who continued to play even although it was frowned upon by most corners of society. In England a formal ban was introduced in 1921, whilst in Scotland it was later, just after the Second World War. However, even before then, it is believed the Scottish FA discouraged its members from letting women play on their pitches.
The sole purpose of this team of extraordinary women, was to entertain the crowds that came to watch them and raise money for charity; so in this sense it was more acceptable to some. Sadie Smith was the captain, and by all accounts a tricky player, and this news came as a revelation to her granddaughter – singer Eddi Reader.
Her gran never spoke about her football days, and that’s very sad to hear, as now when we look back there is immense pride in what these women achieved in the face of very strong resistance. Dr Fiona Skillen has to be commended for her detective work in uncovering this story, which was produced by purpleTV for BBC ALBA, and will air on Saturday, April 9 at 9pm.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the same can be said for football today – will we look back with pride on the achievements of today’s players off the field? Certainly there are one or two of football’s elite who haven’t forgotten where they come from, but generally the money they receive and the lifestyle that they create distances them from reality, real people, and their problems.
For anyone about to take a sip of their coffee, hold on for just a moment as I don’t want you to choke when I say, Chelsea Football Club has a wage bill of £28 million per month! How can this be justified? This particular pot of gold is about to disappear and the repercussions of this on other clubs, within one of the wealthiest leagues in the world, is still an unknown quantity.
It would be no bad thing to get a bit more realism in player’s wages, and with the problems that we are all facing in terms of income versus expenditure, buying tickets and purchasing over-inflated prices for replica shirts, might be one of the first casualties from the domestic purse.
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