Street Child United will soon be hosting the Street Child World Cup in Qatar and hope the tournament can play a pivotal role in not only aiding the continued rise of Women's football, but also raise awareness for the specific issues girls and young women face when living in street situations.

The 2022 SCWC will take place in Doha in October.

Think it's all over? It's only just begun...

These were the words used by Gabby Logan to round off the BBC’s coverage of the Women’s Euros in the wake of the Lionesses’ historic triumph at the end of July. While an allusion to Kenneth Wolstenholme’s famous line during the 1966 World Cup Final, what this quote really captured was the sense that England’s win meant far more than a football tournament.

There was certainly a sense that the Lionesses’ victory would act as a springboard for the growth of the women’s game in this country. Messages of congratulation poured in from the great and the good in the aftermath of the final whistle, with Queen Elizabeth leading the way. “You have all set an example that will be an inspiration for girls and women today”, she wrote to the team. It was certainly more than just the record crowd of 87,192 packed into Wembley who felt inspired. The match – and the women’s game in England – was under the spotlight nationwide.

Young girls sitting and playing on the side of a street in India

While reaction to the tournament was overwhelmingly positive, the return of men’s football in August brought with it a reminder that there is more to be done in terms of attaining true equality for women in sport. During Sky Sports’ coverage of the second round of games in the Premier League, pundit Graeme Souness’ comment that “it’s a man’s game” sparked controversy on social media. Lioness Bethany England responded to the comment by tweeting “Get in the [bin] what a disgraceful thing to say after the summer this country has just seen”.

The replies to England’s tweet were mixed in tone: some supportive, some feeling she had taken Souness’ comment out of context. Whatever your stance on the Souness-England debate, it was a reminder that the country isn’t necessarily on the same page regarding gender equality in the sport. There is work left to do.

Football is, of course, only one lens through which to view the issue of gender equality. It’s a much bigger issue than a spat between two footballers, and one which impacts across society worldwide. For example, women globally earn 10-30% less than men for the same work. Girls living in countries affected by conflict are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys. An estimated 1 in 3 women globally have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Sadly, the examples go on.

For women and girls living in street situations, these problems can be exacerbated further. Street girls are less visible than street boys. They are more likely to be trafficked for work and, when at home, are likely to experience more trauma than boys. This becomes self-perpetuating, as trauma at home pushes more girls onto the streets, where further problems lie.

Football isn’t the answer to all of these problems, but Street Child United believe it certainly has a role to play. Is any activity in the world quite as unifying as the most popular sport on the globe? One of the utmost simplicity, which can be played by almost anyone, anywhere?

Football, and sport more widely, has a unique power to bring people together and to offer those suffering elsewhere an escape. For 90 minutes, on a pitch, in a stadium or even on the street, football has a unique ability to empower, unite and bring joy to whoever has the ball at their feet.

Team Brazil Girls lift the trophy as winners of the Street Child World Cup 2018

This October at the Street Child World Cup (SCWC) in Doha, gender equality is at the forefront of the demands made by the 300 street-connected children participating in the tournament. Of the 28 teams taking part, half are all female. The overwhelming majority of the coaches across both the boys’ and girls’ teams are female. The girls’ final will be played after the boys’ to ensure maximum exposure, and specific education will be provided throughout the event around the issues affecting women and girls on the streets.

If the SCWC can have half of the impact of the Women’s Euros, then that would be a huge success. It is events such as these, we hope, which can continue to push for positive change and give women and girls, particularly those afflicted by issues on the streets, the chance to better their lives and get closer to gender equality. At Street Child United (SCU), we believe football can help to kickstart this process. If women can gain equality on the football pitch and in the eyes of those who watch them play, then why can’t they gain equality elsewhere – from the workplace to the streets? This goal, we feel, is far more attainable than you might imagine. As John Wroe, founder and CEO of SCU, puts it:

“We need to break out of outmoded thinking which keeps women one step behind. Whether it is playing football, pursuing an education, becoming doctors...women and girls can do anything they put their minds to.”

If Gabby Logan was right and things only have just begun, then we are very excited to pick up the baton and continue the journey. We hope that the tournament might end in a fashion as exciting as that of the Women’s Euros. But more importantly, we hope the event will provide a platform for girls across the globe to tell the world ‘I am Somebody’ and demand the necessary change to end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.