Caterina Maiolini
“This is not just a Lionesses revolution it’s a world wide woman's football revolution.
It will keep growing because now many more people have access to the tv and have seen what women can achieve and what their little girls can look forward to..”
⸺Who is Caterina Maiolini?
Cate & born in Italy but raised by London! I am currently taking a sabbatical to study a few things, working on my future career which I am manifesting, will be in ..... yep you guessed it : FOOTBALL! I have never played football, I was a volleyball star in the making.... sadly with unsupportive parents so my journey to stardom was very short.
As I was born in Italy, football has been part of my life since I guess the moment I was taken home from hospital really, from my father watching endless games, to football been everywhere around (tv, magazines, newspapers, friends playing, boyfriends playing) but it was HEAVILY male oriented (so it's ITALY ...still today!) and so as much as I enjoyed, I always thought there was something missing.... until I got closer to women's football and it all made sense.
⸺What team/country do you support and why?
England and lionesses because although I was born in Italy (not as a choice of mine), the only place I feel home is England! And when I watch the lionesses play .... I feel like they are my family. Obviously i also sympathize for Italy and I always wish the well!
⸺How long have you been watching women’s football and have you noticed any changes within the sport?
I got into women's football in late 2016 when Brescia, the city I am from, won the treble in Italy and I got to find that out through Paige Williams (from Liverpool - England) as I read an article about how she left football in England to play professionally in Italy and that got me super curios on WHY? Then I went to a few games when I was back in Italy and started to follow women football then, although I haven't been very active until Man U women came into the scene here in 2018/2019.
Has it changed? oh yes, massively. For better in UK and I fear for worst (for the moment) in Italy! (Volleyball in Italy is a massive sport for women too, and basketball so many tend to get into that instead of football as the game is also less physical).
⸺What impact do you think the 2022 Euros had on women and women’s football in general?
Oh dear... where to begin..... I mean... In Engand is like we live in a different country. I am loving it ... MASSIVELY! All in the space of 1 year and because of what those amazing lionesses did in that magical July 2022!!! More girls want to play, more fundings for them to play, more boys follow women's games as well as, more families enjoy time out to watch the games with young kids and they feel safer.
And with regard to the players ... how umbelieveble it to see now how brands have finally understood that these are truly elilte athletes, beautiful women and fantastic role models and that they should really look into great partnerships with them. This also make all of these incredible athletes more viasible and the cycle starts again... with more kids in football, more fundings etc etc etc
⸺What actions do you think could be made to encourage more diverse younger girls to continue playing and support our current players?
It's the culture in some countries and in some ethnicity. I can speak for Italy where young girls aren't really pushed to explore football as an option because is best for them to study and to also look pretty (I know.... my skin crawls every time i hear it!!!!)
If we think about a movie such as bend it like Beckham, is easy to understand how culturally we still had much more work to do.
And I think we are getting there. My god-daughter who is now 7 and of a mix background (Italian and Nigerian) now plays football and is the best thing that could happen to her as she was quite shy and it helped her with her confidence. I am the one who pushed for her to play and yet one of her Italian family member told me they feared that she playing football may make her like girls in the future and how will she be able to find a husband then?
⸺How do you view the future of women's football?
PINK? lol only joking. I think we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. Look at what is happening at the woman's world cup... it’s just fantastic. This is not just a Lionesses revolution it’s a world wide woman's football revolution. It will keep growing because now many more people have access to the tv and have seen what women can achieve and what their little girls can look forward to. This will kick off that cycle we spoke about above and it will just keep growing!
I have only 1 fear.... that the game will become too similar to the men's game with fans "hating" each others, stadiums been less safe, aggression and all of that and I will fight with all I have to avoid this from happening. The beauty of the game right now and that is so very similar to the rugby atmosphere where it doesn't matter that much who you support, we can all we sat next to each other and support THE GAME not just the team. Please join me in keeping it this way, because is truly truly beautiful!!!!
