LET’S NORMALISE THE USE OF “MEN’S FIRST TEAM” IN FOOTBALL.

Football has long treated male participation as the default.

A girls’ or women’s team is nearly always identified as such. Yet boys’ and men’s teams are often simply called the “first team”, the “senior team” or even just “the team” - as though everyone should naturally assume football is for males unless told otherwise.

That distinction may seem small, but language shapes culture. When one group is consistently named and another is treated as the default, it reinforces the outdated idea that the women’s game is an alternative version of football rather than an equal part of the sport.

Calling a team the “Men’s First Team” is not political correctness, nor does it diminish its history, status or commercial importance. It is simply accurate, consistent and respectful of its female counterpart.

It acknowledges that the Women’s First Team is not an alternative or secondary version of the club’s “real” team, but an equally legitimate first team in its own right. If a club has both a Women’s First Team and a Men’s First Team, why should only one of them require a label?

The same issue exists in grassroots youth football.

Mixed teams are still, by and large, assumed to be boys’ teams. Unless a girl or her parents already know that a team is mixed, its name may give them no reason to believe that girls are welcome to join.

A team name is often the first message a club sends to a prospective player. It should act as an invitation, not leave girls and their parents wondering whether they are included.

Adding “Mixed” to the full names of these teams would send an immediate and positive message. It would tell girls and their families that the team is open to them, that their participation is expected and that they will not be treated as an exception.

A team may officially be mixed, but if it is presented publicly as though it is a boys’ team, an unnecessary barrier has already been created.

This matters because the current position did not develop on a level playing field. In 1921, The Football Association banned women’s football from its affiliated grounds after declaring the game “quite unsuitable for females”. That restriction remained in place for half a century, denying the women’s game generations of investment, infrastructure, visibility and opportunity.

The effects of that history cannot be separated from the inequalities and cultural assumptions that remain within football today.

Thankfully, the game is changing. Participation is growing, audiences are expanding and more girls can now see a genuine future for themselves in the sport.

But progress is not achieved only through major campaigns and investment. It is also achieved by challenging the everyday habits and systems that quietly preserve an outdated hierarchy.

That is why I have launched a petition calling on the Government to support this change and formally ask The Football Association to implement it within its grassroots technology systems.

Clubs already have to identify whether a team is Mixed, Men’s or Women’s when registering it. The relevant classification therefore already exists within the system, while age groups are also routinely included in displayed team names.

The request is simple:

Make the selected team classification visible in the full team name by default, in the same way that the age group is displayed.

This would mean teams being consistently identified as, for example:

“Mixed Under 10s”

“Women’s First Team”

“Men’s First Team”

This change would create greater clarity and consistency without placing another administrative burden on the volunteers who run grassroots football.

It would make mixed opportunities more visible to girls and their families, give Women’s First Teams the equal recognition and respect they deserve and help end the convention that men’s football should be treated as the unnamed default.

This change alone will not create equality throughout football, but that is not an argument for preserving an unnecessary and easily removable barrier.

A relatively small change to the system could positively influence how thousands of teams are presented and perceived. Implemented nationally, it would remove an unnecessary barrier at scale and send a powerful message about who the game belongs to.

Women and girls should not have to be permanently identified as the exception, nor should they have to investigate whether they are welcome.

Football belongs to everyone. Its language and its systems should reflect that.

If you agree, please sign the petition and help demonstrate the support for this change:

Please also share and encourage your club, league, coaches, players and parents to support it.

A small change in the system could help create a lasting change in the culture.

#MensFirstTeam #MixedFootball #WomensFootball #GirlsFootball #EqualityInFootball #GrassrootsFootball #FootballForEveryone #ChangeFootball