Ahead of this weekend’s HerGameToo double header at St James Park, we sat down with the men’s team player advocate Pierce Sweeney to discuss the campaign.
Since the club partnered with the initiative in 2021, men’s team captain Pierce has been a major supporter of HerGameToo, while his perspective on the issues of sexism has also widened off the pitch after the birth of his daughter.
“Football is going to be a big sport in my house, my son is starting to kick a football around at two-years-old, so I think my daughter will somehow potentially get involved in football,” Pierce said.
Community and inclusion is an important aspect for the players of both first teams at the Grecians, and it’s something that they’re keen to highlight every matchday, from the minute they arrive at St James Park.
“When we arrive at the stadium and get out of our cars, there’s a whole mixture of people around us,” City’s skipper explained.
“We always tend to mix and treat everyone the same – I think that’s really important. It’s important to treat all people the same, as human beings, regardless of whether they’re at a football stadium or not.”
The campaign describes itself as ‘a movement dedicated to tackling sexism and gender inequality in sport’, and is unfortunately still required in 2024. However, progress is being made and Pierce explained that the squad are aware of what to do if they overhear sexist abuse in the stands.
“It’s definitely not welcome, however I haven’t seen much or heard much at our football club. We have a really good group of people in our changing room and our staff where if anything like that ever happened, it would be nipped in the bud.
“It’s important that we report it, firstly to the referee. After that, it needs to go further beyond the referee and if the club can help us in that capacity.”
Hear more from Pierce on the campaign and how the club is continually growing more equal ⬇️
Come along to St James Park this weekend for our Her Game Too weekend, and back the men and the women against Cambridge and Billericay respectively. Get your tickets here!