The report says researcher Kathryn Higgins believes slogans such as “Future WAG” connect women to football through men rather than recognising them as supporters in their own right.
That distinction matters. A woman can be a lifelong fan and wear an apparently patronising slogan ironically. But the product still has to sell the stereotype first: women as girlfriends, wives, newcomers or spectators who need the rules explained.
The issue is not whether every buyer is ignorant of football. It is whether the joke depends on that assumption.
Oenone Forbat offers a different reading, saying some women may be “in on the joke”. That defence should not be dismissed. Football has always had room for self-mockery, and fans regularly wear clothing that exaggerates their identity.
Yet irony does not erase the commercial message. “Just Here for Jude” may be playful for one supporter, while reinforcing the idea that women’s interest is primarily celebrity-driven for another. The same shirt can feel empowering to its wearer and reductive in the shop window.
The debate arrives as women’s interest in football continues to grow, with many new supporters drawn in by the Lionesses and the expanding visibility of the women’s game. That progress makes lazy marketing easier to spot.
The next wave of football merchandise will reveal whether brands have learned the lesson: women should be marketed as fans, not as guests at their own sport.