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Exploring online sexism and misogyny in women’s professional English football

Kilvington, Daniel orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-3361-0860, Liston, Katie orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-3898-0166, Fletcher, Thomas orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-4618-5480, Black, Jack orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-1595-5083, Lynn, Theo orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-9284-7580, Sinclair, Gary orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-2181-7736, Kearns, Colm orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-6819-8488 and Doidge, Mark orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-6858-3914 (2026) Exploring online sexism and misogyny in women’s professional English football. Soccer and Society, 27 (2-3). pp. 705-719. ISSN 1743-9590

Abstract
The increased professionalization of women’s football means that women players are now competing in front of sold-out capacity crowds with millions of viewers watching. This enhanced popularity has increased online traffic relating to women’s football. Some of these discussions are abusive, and potentially harmful. Nonetheless, while a growing body of research has investigated online harms in football, most of the attention has centred on men’s football. This article importantly focuses on women’s football. We examine qualitative findings with 30 current and former professional women’s players to understand how online sexism, misogyny and wider harms, are experienced and dealt with. Our findings demonstrate that players are vulnerable to online harms and often try to dismiss it as an occupational hazard. We suggest that stakeholders should devote more time and resources to better protect players against such harms. The article concludes by offering some recommendations for reform and suggestions for future research.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Subjects:Medical Sciences > Sports sciences
Social Sciences > Gender
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > DCU Business School
Publisher:Routledge
Official URL:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14660...
Copyright Information:Authors
ID Code:32807
Deposited On:30 Jun 2026 13:51 by Tam Nguyen . Last Modified 30 Jun 2026 13:51
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