Be Inspired Conference

More than 500 delegates packed into Wembley Stadium for the fourth annual Be Inspired Conference, organised by Women in Football. Tom Walker reports from the event, where one of the themes was “shaping the future”

The fourth Women in Football Be Inspired Conference saw more than 500 delegates attend a combination of keynote speeches and break out sessions at Wembley Stadium on 26 March. Sports broadcaster and the host for the day, Reshmin Chowdhury, opened the morning session by stating that the event – and Women in Football (WIF) as an organisation – wasn’t “just a sisterhood”, but a “support network, where everyone is there to give and to support”. The first session of the day also included a landmark moment for WIF, as it became a signatory to the Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration on Women and Sport. Developed and established by the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport, the international treaty has become a road map to support the ongoing development of a more fair and equitable system of sport and physical activity, fully inclusive of women and girls.

Lisa O’Keefe, Secretary General of IWG Women & Sport, took to the stage and asked the crowd for a favour: “We need your knowledge,” she said. “Where you’re making change, we want to hear it.

Meaningful targets

In total, the day included nearly 20 different sessions, with topics covering everything from commercial opportunities in the professional women’s game to the social impact of grassroots female football. At times, up to flour parallel sessions were running at a time, which meant that delegates were spoilt for choice when it came to picking inspiring talks and topics.

The first plenary session of the day was hosted by Sky Sports News anchor presenter Hayley McQueen and featured Maggie Murphy (sports business and strategy consultant), Matthew Ryder KC (Premier League independent non-executive director) and Kelly Simmons OBE (sports consultant). The panel discussed a number of topics, from driving systemic change in the football industry to the potential impact of quotas and legislation to influence wider representation at every level of governance. On that, Ryder talked about the importance of setting targets to increase representation behind the scenes, especially so with his work in the Premier League. “You have to strike a balance between telling people what to do and setting/emphasising targets for clubs,” he said.

“I believe that when you set targets to reach standards, you don’t lower the standards. It forces you to look harder for the talent that is out there.”

He also shared that the Premier League has set a target of employing 50% women by 2031, emphasising the need for setting these high standards.

When talking about driving change, Simmons – a former Director of Women’s Professional Game with the FA – said: “We want to help women to get into these 150-year-old football structures. We want to create an environment that women can thrive and excel in.”

“The rapid growth of the women’s game across the world hasn’t been matched by big change when it comes to women working in senior and executive roles. It has been slow and is holding back the women’s game.”

Delegates then heard from Emma Hayes OBE, the Head Coach of the US Women’s National Team – arguably one of the most high profile women in the world of football today.

Representing everyone

Among the highlights in the afternoon was a breakout session which discussed the need for positive change among oganisations. The strong line up of panellists included Justine Roberts CBE, founder and CEO, Mumsnet; Yasir Mirza, the FA’s Director of EDI; Martina Pavlová, Women’s Vice-Chair at ECA and Neil Saunders, Director of Football at The Premier League. Titled “The Business of Change”, the session’s discussion focused on how football can better reach out to support communities and the wider world – especially when it comes to creating spaces and opportunities for women and girls.

Neil Saunders stated that football needs to ensure that it “represents those who aren’t represented” and involves all parts of society. “Change doesn’t happen overnight – but we’re starting to see it,” he said. “We need to celebrate our successes and small wins and the investment that’s been made.”

Justine Roberts then concluded the session with a message that reflected many of the discussions during the day. “Football is on a journey”, Roberts said. “But football is not representative enough at the top. We’ve got a way to go.”