Reading comprehension

Fair play for women in football In 2011, the Japanese women’s football team beat the United States to win the World Cup. It was big news in Japan, and star players such as Homare Sawa became household names. It seemed that, at last, women’s football in Japan was getting the attention and respect that it deserved. A year later, however, when the team arrived at the airport to fly to the Olympic Games in London, the players were shocked to discover that their national football association had booked seats in business class for the men’s football team, but seats in the economy section of the plane for Homare and her teammates. Despite all their success and self-sacrifice, they were still second-class citizens in the world of football.Since the first World Cup in 1991, women’s football has grown rapidly. In fact, it has become arguably the fastest growing sport in the world. However, the astonishing story of how appallingly the Japanese world champions have been treated is typical of the way that football associations and sports media ignore and patronize women’s football. The situation is very unfair, and many people believe that attitudes should change.In recent years, women footballers have shown as much commitment to their sport as male footballers, but they have earned very little in comparison to the millions of euros that even average male professionals earn. It is, of course, true to say that men’s football raises a lot more money from ticket sales and sales merchandise, and major men’s football matches get much bigger TV audiences than women’s games, so nobody is suggesting that women should get the same pay as men. However, what women in football want is more investment, support and exposure. Research at a British university showed that, although almost half the football teams at the university were women’s teams, they received 30% less funding than the men’s teams, they could only practise and play on the best football pitches when the men’s teams didn’t need them, and, in the university newspaper, very few of the sports articles were about women’s sport.There are other reasons why women’s football deserves more support. First of all, the success of women’s football has been very positive for society. It has persuaded more and more girls to take up sport, and this has had enormous benefits in terms of improving the health and raising the self-esteem of young women. Secondly, it has made young women realise that team sports are for them, and that they can not only be participants, but they can also be knowledgeable supporters. This is good for both men’s and women’s football. The number of female supporters at men’s games is rising these days, and that’s because more and more women have played the game and fallen in love with it. Read the text. Choose the correct answer (a–d). they hadn’t achieved as much as the men in football. they weren’t able to get much media attention. they weren’t treated as well as the men by their football association. they didn’t follow up their World Cup win with Olympic success. Women’s football has grown, but not as rapidly as some had hoped. the sport is not as fair as it once was. female footballers aren’t respected enough. it has ignored changing values in society. According to the text, even the best-paid female footballers earn less money than an average male professional footballer. less money from TV revenue than they used to. more money than they deserve to earn. more from merchandise sales than the men. University research in Britain has shown that more women play football than men at university. there is twice as much newspaper reporting of the men’s game. female footballers get less access to sports facilities than men. both the men’s and women’s game is underfunded. As a result of the growth of women’s football, support by women at men’s football matches has increased. more women want to play games with men. poor health has risen among women. schools have started playing more team sports. Match the descriptions to the words . Give all your time and hard work to your sport. commitment Control your lifestyle – eat well and train regularly. discipline Don’t cheat and always respect the people you play against. sportsmanship Be confident in your abilities and have a positive image of yourself. self-esteem Have the ability to keep running and training. stamina Have one aim and be determined to achieve it. single-mindedness Put the needs of other people in your team before your own. self-sacrifice Don’t depend on teammates. Be ready to depend on yourself. self-reliance Always support and feel positive about your teammates. team spirit Complete the sentences. Use the correct form of the words in brackets. 1) Student counsellors need the ability (able) to listen to, and be sympathetic to other people.2) Happiness (happy) is a state of mind. You can feel happy even when times are hard if you stay positive.3) We stayed awake until three in the morning before tiredness (tired) came over us and we all fell asleep.4) In many European countries, prosperity (prosperous) is a recent thing. Our grandparents were quite poor.5) Thank you for your generosity (generous). I don’t know what we would have done without your donation of €2,000. 6) I’ve never seen so much laziness (lazy) in my life! Nobody in this class is doing any work.7) We thanked Diane for her kindness(kind). There was no need for her to help us.8) The government understands the necessity (necessary) for more recycling.