Recommendation 12

It is symptomatic of gender inequality and sexism in the sports sector that the first football boot in the world designed around female feet came to the market less than four years ago. Since then, limited progress has been made by the largest sports brands, who between them have produced only a handful of football boots designed specifically for the needs of girls and women. Some of those that are available are at a price many people cannot afford. It is also disappointing that Sports Direct, the UK’s largest sports retailer, appears unwilling to promote football boots to women and girls in store and does not stock a wide a range of boots designed specifically for women. Girls and women at all levels of sport deserve kit and equipment properly researched and designed for their health, wellbeing, and performance needs. At a time of soaring interest in women’s sport, the sector must do better. The aim must be to provide an equal range of sports kit and equipment designed to meet girls’ and women’s needs, at a comparable range of price points, as is available to boys and men.