Spurs Boss Robert Vilahamn: “It’s not always that they actually mean it. They just say it because it’s a ‘normal’ thing to say.”
- Katie Vince
- Mar 31
- 6 min read
Tottenham Hotspur Women’s head coach, Robert Vilahamn, has criticized the sexist attitudes surrounding women’s football, following controversial remarks made by radio host Alan Brazil.
Brazil sparked outrage online after he was involved in a heated debate with his
talkSPORT co-host, Shebahn Aherne. The discussion was centered around Manchester United’s ‘Project 150’ initiative, which outlines the plan to revitalise the club and win the league title by 2028.
Aherne went on to explain their ‘Mission 1’ initiative alongside this, which is to bring the women’s team their first WSL title. During this, Brazil boldly stated: “People around the world are not bothered (about the women’s team).” Following on to say, “it’s not that important”.
These comments quickly circulated around social media, garnering a huge reaction from both sides of the argument. In one respect, it fueled the existing misogyny within the predominantly male football community, and comparatively aggravated existing women’s football fans. Sexist comments flooded the video, not only criticising female footballers, but also Aherne for advocating for them.
Vilahamn discussed the implications of these comments: “People who say those
comments aren’t normally knowledgeable on how the women’s game has developed. When they say these things, there’s a lot of people who just follow the storm and don’t think about what they’re saying.”
The rise of women’s football has unfortunately been trailed by the rise of sexism towards those on the pitch, in front of the camera, and in the stands.
Whether that be in the form of social media abuse, sexist chants, or misogynistic comments made by radio hosts, it is all endangering a community of people who simply love the game.
Fans of women’s football have expressed how hurtful and damaging these messages can be, not only to them but to any young girls listening. “It’s fine if you don’t want to join it, but don’t stop the development of it. When you do that, you destroy it for the next generation of both the fans, and the young women and girls who will play on this stage.” Vilahamn states.
“They don’t need that; they need support.”
The language used when discussing women’s football plays a huge part in the social perception of the game, especially so in the media. “Knowledge is key. Educating people is not the easiest, but I’m a teacher from the beginning.”
“I’ve focused on gender equality, teaching students how to behave and speak. I speak about it with my friends and my family, and everybody is saying something.”
“It’s not always that they actually mean it. They just say it because it’s a ‘normal’ thing to say.”
Sexist and misogynistic attitudes have consistently been growing within the men’s game, with reports of these rising by 44% in the 2022-23 season. Women have shared their fear of safety in the stands at men’s games, alongside the fear of those working in the game as referees, physios, etc.
“In the men’s game it’s more common to say those things. I saw that at my time with BK Häcken, before moving over to the women’s team.” Vilahamn worked as an assistant coach at Häcken from 2020-21, before moving over to coach the women’s team from 2022-23.
“The players in the men’s team were not rude or misbehaved, it’s just seen as normal to say bad things about women’s football.”
On the importance of addressing these comments, particularly in the moment, Vilahamn says: “I think it’s so important to address it every time. I saw the interview and the girl (Aherne) was brilliant, she didn’t just accept it.”
“That’s what we need to do, we need to take every fight, we can’t let them have the last word.”
“For example, what you’re doing now with the interviews, that’s the key. You need to win against evil with kindness and goodness.”
Vilahamn began his footballing career back in 2000, as a youth player for Swedish side Lysekils FF. He retired from playing football in 2015, enabling him to focus on his managerial career.
Reflecting on his vast footballing experience, Vilahamn discusses the change in public perception of women’s football. “I know a lot of people in my network and most of them are really positive when speaking about women’s football. They can see the journey I am taking with the women’s game.”
“I can tell that a lot of people from the men’s game are having more respect for the women. They are listening more and seeing it more, so they don’t say the negative comments as much anymore.”
“Perhaps they do behind my back, but I don't think so. They get more and more respect for the game, because they are getting it exploited through social media.”
During our interview, Vilahamn’s Tottenham Hotspur side were preparing to face Arsenal away in the Barclays Women’s Super League. The game had an attendance of 56,784 people at the Emirates stadium in February, following on from their 60,050 attendance at the same fixture the season prior.
“They can see how good the goals we score are, for example. Or the crowd of 60,000 people at the games. I think that’s part of raising the women’s game and stopping the bad things.”
Women’s football has grown rapidly in England, following on from the Lionesses winning the UEFA Women’s European Championship in 2022. The final was the most watched women’s football game on UK television at the time, with Wembley stadium hosting 87,192 fans.
WSL clubs noticed a surge in interest and ticketing sales for their fixtures, with the total attendance for the 2022-23 season surpassing 680,000, 172% more from the season before.
Although the interest and attendance is on the rise, barriers still exist in the growth of the game. “I think it’s a mistake to try to convince the men’s fans to start liking the women’s game. You need to grow your own fan base within the women’s game.”
“It’s something different from the men’s game, you cannot compare men and women’s football in terms of actions on the grass. It’s two different genders that are performing in the sport.”
“We need to make sure we build from our own fan base, and then people will come to watch and want to stay in the game.”
With the growing media interest comes a lot of positives, but this can often be outweighed by the negative attitudes and implications of these. The players face a large amount of criticism, and often receive targeted abuse from online platforms.
When asked what impact this attention has on his players, particularly on their preparation and mentality for games, Vilahamn stated: “I think it’s a journey. We’re growing with fans, media and salaries, but we also need to make sure that the players can handle that pressure and anxiety.”
“They need to know how to perform in those high pressure environments.”
Sports psychologists are imperative in the women’s game, particularly so with the increased pressure faced by female footballers. Psychologists can help players deal with the intensity of training and high-pressure environments, ensuring their performance does not falter because of this. They’re also important for coaches to better understand the needs of their players.
“We have a sports psychologist full-time now. We know that it’s a huge change going from semi-professional environments, playing in front of 500 people, to a crowd of 60,000.”
“That’s the journey where we need to make sure to educate and support the players and fans. We need to go through that journey before we’re ready for that.”
“I can tell that the players are sometimes nervous in big games, but they can be nervous in small games. That’s part of the learning career, also for me as a coach.”
The Women’s Super League only became fully professional in 2018, requiring clubs to offer their players a minimum 16-hour a week contract.
On his experience in coaching both semi-professional and professional football, Vilahamn discussed the challenges in those environments. “It wasn’t long ago that I coached in a semi-professional environment - that’s not only the women’s game, but also the men’s academy before they start playing in the senior team.”
“It’s definitely a journey in which we need to prepare the players to handle pressure, alongside the comments on social media and negative articles written about them.”
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