Identifying Best Practice in Women's Football - FIFA/CIES ...

skilled professional, such as website design and content management under its ownadministration. 94 The FA can ensure a quality product across the league and have the cost ofskilled personnel be shared by the whole league.Similar examples occur in the Eredivisie Vrouwen of the Netherlands and the FrauenBundesliga of Germany. The KNVB specifically restructured the entire women’s footballstructure with the goal “to give women's football a structural quality injection and to raise theoverall sporting level.” 95 Because the federation was the driving force in the creation of theleague, including a business plan and strategies for future development, it also assists inmany of the tasks most often reserved for the individual clubs. As Germany has become aclear leader in European women’s football 96 , the DFB likewise has lent significant assistanceto its clubs. To highlight a specific example, increasingly important in today’s media-drivensociety, the DFB has begun Internet streaming entire matches as well as weekly highlights ofFrauen-Bundesliga matches. 97 The skilled labour to produce live matches for viewing is veryspecific, and often expensive. Now clubs in the Frauen-Bundesliga have increased mediaexposure on a global scale, which they would currently be unable to produce on their own.4.1.3 Decision-makersPlayers and administrators give women’s football in Europe its day-to-day life, but highprofileleaders in European football have brought more money and exposure to the women’sgame, but also very importantly, a greater legitimacy within the greater European footballcommunity. Michel Platini, the voice and leader of UEFA, has added women’s football tothe Respect campaign, and the former chairman of the English FA, Lord Triesman, had putwomen’s football as a major growth area within England. 98 In a country where the federationwas adamantly opposed to women playing football until the early 1970s, perhaps the greatestsupporter of women’s football has become their president. In a monumental public show ofsupport, the DFB president, Dr. Theo Zwanziger, later shown in a nationally-televiseddocumentary, waited pitch-side to enthusiastically hug the Germany national team players as""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""94 Schulha, Interview, 10, June 2010; Hayward, Interview, 12, May 2010.95 Janssens, Interview, 10, May 2010.96 Having won the European Championship 5 times in a row, the last two Women’s World Cups, and numerousyouth championships.97 DFB-TV [WWW]. Available from: http://tv.dfb.de/index.php [Accessed 30/06/2010].98 Hayward, Interview, 12, May 2010."$$"