We can’t lose women’s football to climate change, says England star Chris Lockwood

I started playing football in the 1960s and I am incredibly proud to have represented England at a major international tournament, pre FIFA.

I was brought up on a farm, surrounded by male cousins who were all football mad, so from the age of four or five I started kicking a ball around with them. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to be included in the game. It wasn’t until I grew up that I realised girls weren’t being encouraged to play.

I was not allowed to play football at school and I never knew another girl who played until I was 13 years old. Even when we found a women’s team to join, we were banned from playing on FA affiliated pitches. We had to use our pocket money to hire a pitch on a council park. These were basic pitches, often sloping and very muddy. We got them on a Sunday afternoon, but only after the men and boys’ games had been played.

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Thankfully a lot has changed in the sport since I played for England aged just 15. I feel so proud of what the Lionesses have achieved over the decades and what they stand for today. But women’s football still faces a lot of challenges.  

Playing on a wet, muddy pitch in the 1960s, I never could have imagined that severe weather would one day become a real issue for the future of women’s football.

In a report published by Green Football’s Great Save and Zurich Resilience Solutions, climate hazards including wind gusts of up to 120 miles per hour and severe flooding will pose an increasing threat to pitches where women play over the next 25 years. This could mean that women will have less opportunity to play the sport I fought so hard to be a part of. We’re seeing the impact even now: a number of women’s games have already been called off this year due to dangerous playing conditions caused by Storms Éowyn and Babet. 

While climate change is threatening football in general, women’s teams, especially grassroots and local teams, are particularly at risk from flooding and damaged pitches, as they often play at grounds with weaker infrastructure.

Obviously, some things have greatly improved in women’s football since I was a player, but this is mostly for top flight teams where there’s greater room for investment to protect the pitches.

Grassroots teams still face challenges with funding and the state of the grounds – especially increasing waterlogged pitches. In fact, a close friend admitted recently that she hasn’t been able to play in weeks because of water-logged pitches in London where she usually plays.

This research from the world’s biggest football climate campaign highlights the urgent need for us all to tackle climate change if we want to protect the game. It may feel overwhelming as an issue, but football has an incredible power to drive positive change if we all come together to take action.

This year’s Great Save saw clubs helping to save kit from landfill by donating used sportswear to local groups and charities. On this issue alone there are so many longer-term initiatives they can now put into place: permanent kit donation or buy-back schemes, making sure their kits are made from fully recyclable materials, even creating new ranges of merch from up-cycled old shirts.

And there’s so much that we can do as individuals as well – from passing on our own unused sportswear to give it a second life, walking or cycling more instead of driving, eating more veg, even taking shorter showers. These small actions may seem insignificant, but they help reduce waste and carbon – and imagine how much impact the UK’s 36 million football fans can make when we come together.

I am passionate about protecting the future of women’s football because I know what it did for me to be part of a team and club. It gave me confidence because I could play with freedom and nobody judged me. Football brings people together no matter who they are and where they are from.

When I was playing, it meant more to me than anything else in the world. Football gave me a purpose, friendship, confidence and a voice. I want other young women to be afforded that same opportunity today and for decades to come.

With women’s football enjoying the best visibility and popularity in the sports history, it is vital that the necessary steps are taken to help protect its future from the impacts of climate change. It’s been a huge privilege to be part of the history of women’s football. Now it’s about taking action together to protect the game for the next generation of female players and fans.

While the figures in this report are specifically looking at the threats to football – cricket, rugby, hockey – all outdoor sports are likely to be affected by the more extreme weather expected in the coming years.  We know what to do about it, so it’s up to all of us to help protect the games we love.

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