{UAH} Pojim/WBK: FA cause outrage with tweet about England women's World Cup team going 'back to being mothers, partners and daughters' | Daily Mail Online
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FA cause outrage with tweet about England women's World Cup team going 'back to being mothers, partners and daughters'
- The England women's team returned from the World Cup on Monday
- The team finished third in the competition and won the bronze medal
- But a tweet from the Football Association has sparked claims of sexism
- It said the squad were returning to being 'mothers, partners and daughters'
- But many of the players will return to jobs or professional playing careers
- They are also trained sports scientists, lawyers, financiers and coaches
The Football Association has come under fire for a poorly worded tweet about the England women's team returning from the World Cup, which was criticised for being patronising and sexist.
As Mark Sampson's third-placed team arrived at Heathrow with their bronze medals, an FA tweet read 'our Lionesses go back to being mothers, partners and daughters today, but they have taken on another title - heroes.'
The FA's tweet used the introduction to an article on the website about the players landing back in England.
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The tweet was swiftly removed, with the organisation acknowledging its mistake, and the intro to the report was changed.
An FA spokesperson said: 'The full story was a wider homecoming feature attempting to reflect the many personal stories within the playing squad as has been told throughout the course of the tournament.
'However, we understand that an element of the story appears to have been taken out of context and the opening paragraph was subsequently revised to reflect that fact.'
Responses to the tweet questioned whether the FA would write about any of Roy Hodgson's team returning to be a husband, father or boyfriend after being away competing at an international tournament.
One Twitter user called Danielle Lowe said: 'I didn't know competitions meant you stopped being any of those!
She added: 'They must be pleased to still be lawyers, etc, during it though.'
Another called Samuel Owens said: 'Awful tweet and undermines the superb athletes they have shown themselves to be.'
Meanwhile a Tweeter called Jess Lishak said: 'Lovely bit of everyday sexism from the England twitter feed #putdownyourmedalandmakemeasandwich.'
Broadcaster and retired basketball player John Amaechi OBE also took to Twitter to air his disgust, tweeting: 'Just when it looked like @England had finally learned something from women's sport, they tweet this. *sigh*'
He added: 'Seriously @England when you take a Twitter handle that includes a country, you really shouldn't tweet from the 70's.'
Some women have compared the tone of the message to the way the British government treated women who had contributed to the war effort in WW1 and WW2.
At the time, ladies were expected to go back to work in the home so that the men could have the jobs.
Of course, the Lionesses should also be referred to as heroines, as opposed to heroes, after their efforts in Canada.
Their finish of third is the second best ever by an England team at the World Cup, after Sir Alf Ramsey's team won the competition on home soil in 1966.
James Callow, content editor of the FA, appeared to admit to writing the piece in question and posted a series of tweets in response to the outrage.
'Sorry if I caused offence,' Callow wrote. 'The piece is intended to sum up a nice moment when players are reunited with their families.
'I reject any accusation of sexism and human interest is a big part of any sport reporting. Id (sic) have done the same for England me, (sic) absolutely.'
Callow said he had done a similar piece when England men's cricket team returned from winning the Twenty20 World Cup.
Most of England's players will return to action in the women's Super League this weekend.
ENGLAND'S LIONESSES: LAWYERS, COACHES AND FINANCIERS
England defender Laura Bassett, whose own goal against Japan sent England home at the semi-final stage, is a professional footballer for Notts County.
The 31-year-old has spent more than a decade playing for various clubs, including stints with Birmingham, Arsenal, Leeds and Chelsea.
Midfielder Fara Williams, 31, works as a skills coach for the Football Association and also plays for Liverpool.
After living homeless for six years during the early stage of her career, she also worked for a time as a coach for the Homeless FA charity.
Nigerian-born Eniola Aluko moved to Birmingham with her family when she was just a year old and subsequently chose to represent England at international level.
Although she now plays football professionally, she studied law at Brunel University, where she graduated with a First Class degree in 2008.
Last year she also became the first woman to ever appear as a television pundit on the BBC's Match of the Day.
Karen Carney, is a winger who is currently signed to Birmingham and has made more than 100 appearances for the England national team.
The 27-year-old plays professionally, but growing up juggled her footballing responsibilities while studying sports science at Loughborough University.
England captain and defender Steph Houghton grew up in a former mining village in Co. Durham and made her debut for South Hetton Primary School football team, aged eight.
She left Loughborough University with a degree in sports science and became a professional footballer for Sunderland. She now plays for Manchester City.
Left back Claire Rafferty, 26, has a second job to bolster her income. She is working at the highest level in the City of London as a part-time analyst for Deutsche Bank.
This extraordinary juggling act came about when she suffered two career-threatening knee injuries, forcing the Loughborough University economics graduate to spend long stints away from the game.
Midfielder Jade Moore, 24, plays for Birmingham and is a qualified sports therapist.
When she was 16, a routine scan revealed two holes in Jade's heart, but she resumed training a fortnight after corrective surgery using a 'cocktail like' umbrella to fix it.
Karen Bardsley is an American-born goalkeeper currently playing for Manchester City and who chose to represent England through family in Stockport.
The 30-year-old studied graphic design at college prior to moving to Britain, and she has previously worked as an assistant coach with the University of San Diego.
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