'We went to battle with sexist football fans'

Two Bristol Rovers fans who launched a campaign to combat sexism in football have now branched out to other sports.

Lucy Ford and Caz May, along with a small team of other women football fans, decided to take action after suffering abuse in person and online.

Now, three years after their HerGameToo video went viral, they have expanded into other sports - helping women in cricket and rugby.

A total of 75 football clubs across England have backed their cause - with teams wearing their HerGameToo T-shirts.

Their hashtag is shared globally and they have partnerships across the world.

The duo started HerGameToo, which is now a community interest company, to create a safe place where women can talk about football, encourage more girls into sport and boost women's opportunities in the sporting world.

Ms May, from Weston-super-Mare, said she was sat talking with Ms Ford, from Oldland Common, in a pub when they first came up with the idea in 2021.

It only took three weeks for them to create their video, which showed woman standing with posters detailing the abuse they have endured.

"Life changed from that moment - it genuinely did," said Ms May.

"When we put that video out on social media, I remember everyone was like 'oh my god my phone is blowing up'.

"It has been a mad three years."

Ms May says she suffered "casual and direct sexism" including physical touching.

"Men would think because you're a woman in a very male-dominated environment, they can do and say what they like to you, which made it very, very difficult for us as women to feel entirely comfortable," she said.

"I've had men touch me or say things that are really inappropriate, referencing my female body parts - things that just made me feel like I wasn't welcome."

Ms Ford said she first started watching Bristol Rovers because her mother was a fan.

Sexism was rife and over time, she says, all the women became acclimatised to it.

Looking back to first launching the video, Ms Ford said they had to be "brave".

"To put yourself out there and highlight something that has been going on for so many years, so many generations - we are basically going into battle with these people who caused us to feel the way we felt," Ms Ford said.

The duo hope their work will allow other women and girls to be able to talk about football in a "safe space".

They also want more girls to be introduced to sports at a young age.

Half of secondary schools in the UK still do not offer football to girls in PE, according to HerGameToo.

"We want to make sure no other woman has to go through what we did," Ms May said.

"Because the way it makes you feel, not just in the moment but for years to come, you never forget those moments.

"If we can build a safe space for those women so they don't have to go through that then we feel like we've done our job.

"It's going to take some time - but I think we'll get there."

They have now branched out to other sports, including cricket and rugby.

"The ICEC (Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket) report in the summer really highlighted that that there is an issue with sexism within cricket," said Ms Ford.

"But also, it's important to grow and learn. For us, it's important to highlight the issues and have somewhere that people can report things.

"We want to have an opportunity to celebrate, to encourage girls to get involved with cricket, have a safe place where they can play."

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