Let's Never Forget That England Women's Football Came From Grassroots, Queer Communities

The Lionesses are through to the semi finals at this year's Euros, with matches breaking records for both attendance and live streams. Much of their success can be traced back to grassroots football teams and communities in the UK.

Each year over 1.5 million visitors come to the UK with plans to watch a live football match, funnelling money into a wider industry that is one of sport's most lucrative - the Men's Premiere League alone worth an estimated 7.6 US billion.

Yet this big money rarely translate to grassroots levels: especially when it comes to the women's game, and virtually non-existence when it comes to queer, trans-inclusive teams.

A new drop by Hull-born, London-based designer Hattie Crowther, called MORE PINTS THAN PAYCHEQUES, reimagines the football shirt as a canvas to platform for visibility, critique and commentary, while celebrating those working at grassroots level to keep the spirit of the game alive.

"It’s important to celebrate how far the game has come. The fact that you can now watch matches on major channels without having to hunt around dodgy streams or weird platforms says a lot. That kind of visibility would’ve felt impossible a few years ago," says Hattie. "It’s not just pub screens or corporate-sponsored fan zones. It’s more community-led, and you can feel the genuine love for the game."

This growth of women's football is all thanks to grassroots, fan-led movements that can be experienced across the UK, from park kickabouts to watch parties and day trips. In London, collectives like Baller FC and Indivisa host inclusive watch parties across venues primarily in East London, while bars and clubs including Goldie's Saloon, Queer Brewing, Dalston Superstore, Divine and The Retro are showing all the Women's games in queer friendly, inclusive settings.

Meanwhile, clubs like Goal Diggers FC, Baesianz FC, Whippets FC, Deptford Ravens are keep the game alive at a grassroots level, organising open training sessions, watch parties, leagues, and meet ups.

From Hattie's collection, 10% of all sales from will be donated to @TrukUnitedFC , a trans-inclusive football club supporting visibility, inclusion, and access in the game. The images accompanying the drop further platform the key players in grassroots communities: the photographer Anna Brooks is the founder of Leon FC, which hosts open trainings and is open to beginner levels.

The talent shown includes Trisha Lewis the founder of Creative Football Collective Romance FC, who host tournaments, watch parties and campaigns, alongside Bianca Zehra, a stylist who is also part of Romance FC, alongside former academy footballer and film editor/director, Olivia Bohac.

The shirts also incorporates the trans flag in direct response to the FA’s recent ban on trans women in elite football, and rejigs the logos of official sponsors to highlight contradictions in the game when it comes to inequality and exclusion.

"[the industry] needs to acknowledge the harm, apologise, and invest. Not just financially, but in rebuilding trust with fans and players. There’s a real community out there that cares about the game and wants it to be better. You can hear it, see it, feel it," says Hattie.

"The fact that policies like this exist at all shows how disconnected leadership is from the actual culture of football. If you want to lead, you need to listen. Start with the people who’ve built the women’s game up, not just the ones in the boardroom."

"Start with the people who’ve built the women’s game up, not just the ones in the boardroom."

The collection is composed of up-cycled, one-off pieces, which also points to the corporate greed that threatens the communal beauty of football culture. "Merch should actually mean something. We don’t need ten tees, six caps and a mug every time there’s a new campaign. Most of it doesn’t sell through, and no one talks about where it ends up," says Crowther. "There are piles of first, second and third kits sitting around that never made it to the pitch. Why not design with that in mind instead of starting from scratch every time?"

While the collection serves as a powerful reminder of how much needs to change to make the game truly beautiful - for everyone - it also celebrates and acknowledges the work of passionate groups, individuals, teams and fans that have made the community around women's football so special.

"If you start to copy the men’s structure too closely, you’ll lose the one thing that makes the women’s game feel different. Keep it open. Keep it local. Keep it real"

As this year's euros promises to continue to break records in terms of attendance, merch sales, viewer stats, growth must be celebrated while protecting inclusive football communities. "Keep it connected. Don’t cut off the people who helped build it just because big money is now involved," says Hattie, as a word of warning to industry and brands looking to capitalise on the movement.

"Support the small teams, the independent creatives, the people running workshops, pop-ups and training sessions. Pay people fairly. Include people who reflect the actual culture of the game, not just the most polished version of it. If you start to copy the men’s structure too closely, you’ll lose the one thing that makes the women’s game feel different. Keep it open. Keep it local. Keep it real."

MORE PINTS THAN PAYCHEQUES shirts can be purchased at here. 10% of all sales from the collection will be donated to @TrukUnitedFC a trans-inclusive football club supporting visibility, inclusion, and access in the game.