On Boxing Day 2021, Everton became the first Premier League club to formally support Her Game Too. Twelve months on, we take a look at how the initiative has continued to move forward…

It has been 12 months since Everton first partnered with Her Game Too, a campaign that aims to tackle sexism and champion women in sport. The organisation has had a fantastic 2022, with a number of activities and achievements underlining their growth and progress to date.

Since Everton gave its backing to the campaign, Her Game Too has:
 
- Grown to have more than 200 established partnerships, including with seven Premier League clubs and many others from the Football League, Women's Super League and semi-professional and grassroots ranks.
- Been named winners at the Football Content Awards 2022 in the Best in Women's category for their output across their website, Twitter and Instagram.
- Been nominated in the ‘Best Organisation in Women’s Football’ category at the Football Content Awards.
- Partnered with We Love Sport to introduce several Her Game Too pubs and bars across the UK, which are a safe place for women to watch live sport, with specially trained staff and a reporting line should someone to need to report incidents of sexism.
- Had dedicated matchdays of action when Everton hosted Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League in March and for Everton Women's home clash with Leicester City the same weekend
- Planned more dedicated fixtures in March 2023 with their partner clubs across both women’s and men’s fixtures.
 
Her Game Too’s partnership with Everton has also continued to go from strength to strength. Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Izzy Christiansen are among the players to have voiced their support of the campaign on social media, while new posters have been installed around Goodison Park to raise greater awareness of how instances of sexism can be reported.
 
A Her Game Too network was established by former Everton Fans’ Forum member and Her Game Too supporter Siobhan Doran, and now through Laura Burgess and Tony Sampson, continues to bring together Evertonians from across the globe to look at how further progress can be made in this important area. 

One of the network’s suggestions led to the Club sending out a survey to fans to gain greater insights from female supporters as to their experiences following Everton home and away.

 
The year also saw Sam McPartland replace Marva Kreel as Everton’s designated Her Game Too ambassador, following a collaborative process between the Fans’ Forum and Her Game Too.
 
Sam, a Season Ticket Member in the Howard Kendall Lower Gwladys Street, has been attending games for 35 years. She said: "I’ve experienced sexism related to being a female football fan a lot over the years and it is so frustrating as I’ve invested so much time, love and effort supporting Everton that I don’t quite understand how my commitment to the Club or knowledge of the game can be questioned. But it does happen across the country, and that is all down to the fact that I’m female. 

“A lot of females can experience negative behaviours from male fans which could make attending games feel intimidating and could put them off. That is not acceptable and, at Her Game Too, we don’t want any female football fan to ever feel this way.”
 
Sam is keen through her role as a Her Game Too ambassador to help other female Evertonians feel supported, aware of their avenues for reporting incidents of abuse, and to continue the good work that has been done with the Fans’ Forum to raise awareness of the impact sexism can have on female fans. 

Critically, she also wants to help spread Her Game Too’s message and ensure Blues feel safe, confident and secure following the Club home and away.

Caz May, founder of Her Game Too, said: "It was a huge step forward for us at Her Game Too when Everton became the first Premier League club to formally back our campaign.

“We truly believe that our partnership with Everton has had a huge influence on our achievements over the past year and we look forward to continuing our work together going forward.”
 
To find out more about Her Game Too and their mission, visit:
 
hergametoo.co.uk
twitter.com/HerGameToo
instagram.com/HerGameToo