Books
BY CARRIE DUNN
The third in a popular trilogy.
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England’s Lionesses are European champions and famous the world over, but other women footballers all across England are fighting a different battle. From training pitches to home stadia, from sponsorship to electricity bills, they want to be treated as footballers, not second-class citizens. This is the story of the season after the summer before.
Carrie shines a light on the evolution of women’s football and the gender gaps that still persist – on issues such as injuries, sportswear, period taboos and diversity. Packed with practical advice and first-hand accounts from leading female players, coaches and administrators around the world and across generations, this is a unique approach to telling the global story of women’s football.
Shortlisted for Football Book of the Year 2023.
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It tells the story of women’s football in England since its 19th-century inception through pen portraits of its trailblazers. The game was once banned because of its popularity – find out about the subversive women who kept organising their teams and matches despite the prohibition, who broke barriers and set records – the legends of the game who built the foundations of the stage upon which today’s stars flourish.
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Longlisted for Football Book of the Year at the Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2020
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One of FourFourTwo's books of the year for 2019
"Insightful, thoughtful, and fascinating"
- Alex Stewart, Tifo Football
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"Dunn's meticulous research and careful choice of words leaves the reader entertained and informed in equal measure"
- Matt Davies-Adams, commentator and broadcaster
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One of the Guardian’s best sports books of 2016
"Crisp and humane writing. I wish I had the psychic or persuasive powers to push The Roar of the Lionesses up on to the bestseller lists. A book that is rooted in the joy and pain of sport. Not only do 'the girls' know how to play football as well or better than 'the boys'; the best of 'em write about it just as well as the boys do too"
- By The Book Reviews
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"Rivetingly insightful and beautifully researched"
- Julie Welch, football writer
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"A fantastic and unique insight into the world of women's football in England"
- Jacqui Oatley, sports presenter and journalist
"Perfectly encompasses the world of professional wrestling in Britain; past and present"
- John Ashdown, The Guardian
"Dunn uses her journalistic background to dig deeper into some of the issues plaguing the British scene and asks the kind of difficult questions most are afraid to touch. Sometimes sacred cows need slaying, and Dunn wields her knife with skill"
- The Void
"At times hilarious, and at other times completely heartbreaking, but always captivating, TW gives Spandex, Screw Jobs and Cheap Pops a huge thumbs-up"
- Total Wrestling Magazine