By Michael Slavin
On International Women’s Day, Everton announced that they were the first club to formally pledge their support for #HerGameToo, a campaign to combat sexist abuse in football. The campaign, started by 12 female football fans, has seen high profile partnerships previously including Leeds United dedicating their recent fixture against Manchester United to the organisation. Everton, however, have been announced to have been the first to have formally partnered with #HerGameToo, with the partnership being confirmed in December of 2021, 3 months prior to the announcement. Everton’s #HerGameToo ambassador Marva Kreel said in a statement released by the club that “Everton have a long and important history of supporting women’s football and women in football, and this link-up is the perfect continuation of that.”
#HerGameToo was launched in May of last year, with a powerful video in which the co-founders of the campaign held up signs showing sexist abuse they had all faced in their time supporting football. Their core aims include a desire to “Create awareness, educate, research” and “Create regular content to champion women in football”. They have since partnered with several teams, with Bradford City also announcing an official partnership on International Women’s Day.