More than half of Brits think women’s football is underrepresented in pubs

06-Mar-2020 - Last updated on 06-Mar-2020 at 09:59 GMT

Level playing field: the all-female fussball table hopes to help push the women’s game into the spotlight further

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British pubgoers would like to see women’s football established as a more regular fixture across the on-trade, according to research by Camden Town Brewery.

The survey of 2,000 people by the north London beer maker found that 53% of visitors to the on-trade think women’s football is underrepresented in Britain’s pubs.

Additionally, while little more than one in 10 pubgoers (14%) had watched a women’s football match at their local in the past year, the majority (52%) would like to see a greater presence for the women’s game across the on-trade.

The findings of Camden Town’s survey were revealed as the Budweiser Brewing Group-owned beer maker kicked off its International Women’s Day 2020 proceedings by installing an all-female fussball table at the Victoria Tavern in Islington, north London, to raise awareness of gender imbalance in Britain’s pubs.

The table, created in partnership with Arsenal Football Club – which announced Camden Hells Lager as its official beer in July 2019 – will cost visitors to the famous Arsenal match-day haunt £3 per play throughout March with all the money raised going to The Fawcett Society – the UK’s leading membership charity for gender equality.

“We are delighted to be working with Camden Town Brewery again this year after our very successful partnership last year, to mark International Women's Day with some feminist football,” The Fawcett Society’s chief executive Sam Smethers explained.

“Women’s football is now becoming much more popular but still not valued equally with the men’s game.”

Greater representation and visibility

Camden Town’s latest initiative, which is kicking off in the run-up to International Women’s Day on 8 March, isn’t the first time it’s teamed up with The Fawcett Society through football.

In 2019, the brewer created a limited edition ‘Women of Camden’ kit for local side Camden Town Ladies emblazoned with illustrations of iconic women, including American poet and novelist Sylvia Plath, Nigerian-born novelist Buchi Emecheta, artist and sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth and women’s suffrage campaigner Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett.

“As a business, gender equality is massively important to us, so we wanted to work with Arsenal to raise awareness of the football gender imbalance,” Camden Town Brewery’s founder Jasper Cuppaidge said.

“Women’s football is going from strength to strength, and we want to see more of it in the place we call home – the pub.”

Arsenal Football Club’s commercial director Peter Silverstone added: “As the most successful women’s team in the country, Arsenal has a long-standing commitment to growing and developing the women’s game.

“With that also comes a responsibility to inspire the next generation of young sportswomen – and that starts with greater representation and visibility across the board.”