A beautiful poster for women’s football this Friday at the Stade de la Source: France faces Vietnam. Kick-off is at 9:10 p.m. A sold-out meeting, since the 6,000 places available have been sold announces the USO club this Thursday. This is the last preparation match for Les Bleues before the Euro. The French have easily won the previous preparation match by beating Cameroon 4-0.
The growing success of women’s football
At US Orléans, we salute the success of this beautiful poster. “I find that great. We see that women’s football attracts more and more people. To see that the stadium is sold out is really great for women’s football (…) I hope it will evolve more and more in the years to come” reacts Sarah Chalabi, player at the USO.
A top-level sportswoman for 18 years, Sarah Chalabi has witnessed the changes her sport has undergone: “There are more and more people who are interested in it, who find the show beautiful to see (…) It’s true that before people had a little trouble getting used to the idea that girls have their place in football, or in sport in general“. When she started playing, Sarah Chalabi was the only girl in her championships; today there are more and more licensees: almost 200,000 licensees in France according to the French Football Federation; a number that has doubled in ten years.
Women’s football more publicized than before
Professional footballers are getting more and more media coverage. New models to follow for young players accompanied by Bonnie Lou, for example, a player also at the USO: “We hear names that come up often. I am thinking of Sakina Karchaoui, Grace Geyoro, who also comes from the region“. Grace Geyoro, who started in Orléans, will not play at the Stade de la Source because she is coming back from injury, but she is part of the list of players selected for the Euro. The competition starts for the Bleues on July 10 , against Italy.
The last preparation match against Vietnam at the Stade de la Source is broadcast live on W9. On the screen we can see, among others, 12 young players from the Club de Saint-Jean-Le-Blanc, they are standard bearers and will be in the center of the field at the start of the match, during the anthems.