Mia Eriksson is sports manager of Linköping FC, who finished 3rd in the Damallsvenskan last season. Previously, she co-hosted the popular women’s football podcast Their Pitch and has also contributed to numerous publications and podcasts offering insight into tactics and analytics in European football.
Good to talk to you Mia, as you are yet another person who has had a huge impact on my career for the better. I know a little bit about this, but can you share a bit more about your relationship with sport as a young woman?
My parents growing up never showed any interest in sports, but me and my brother tried every sport there was when we grew up. So my relationship with sport has always been close, and I can’t imagine life without it now.
Both you and your brother have had your lives massively changed due to sport. You had a lot of opportunities, but I have to ask, do you think Governments or Authorities do enough to encourage female sports participation? Why or why not?
It’s a hard question to answer. The easy one is: that we can always do more as there has been such a difference between how boys and girls have been treated for such a long time.
Governments and authorities should always have an ear towards the ground, which means they should never stop working to reach equality so that girls and young women will always have the same chance [as boys] and the possibility to do whatever sports they want.
Following on from that point, are we finally seeing an overall shift in attitudes regarding women in sport? Or do you still think there is a long way to go in that regard?
I do hope so [regarding the shift]. We can never take it for granted though. And I think that’s important to say. We are not THERE yet but I hope we will be someday.
I’ll use an example from my own experience in Sweden. If we are speaking about football, we are not there yet regarding the change in attitudes, as we still see much of the money put into men’s sports. The women’s teams don’t get the same treatment, even if they are more successful.
So there is still some way to go then. In your view, and to finish this conversation, what is the biggest remaining hurdle that we need to get over? Either from an authority point-of-view or perhaps from a different angle?
This is a BIG question too.
The biggest hurdle to overcome is to realise, across society, that we are not [currently] equals. When we realise it for real, maybe we can stop making excuses and work towards making everything in the world equal, no matter who we are or what we are doing.
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