This past weekend, both the Women's Euros and the Women's African Cup of Nations crowned new champions, with England and Nigeria, respectively, emerging victorious.

For the WEuros, hosted in Switzerland, 29 of 31 matches were sold out, setting a record for overall attendance with more than 650,000 tickets sold. The African finals, held in Rabat, Morocco, saw views and engagement online skyrocket from previous tournaments, largely because of partnerships with YouTube, TikTok and X. Prize money has increased and merchandise is flying off the shelves. 

On this side of the pond, as the new Northern Super League advances boldly into the second half of the season, we can feel the energy and the power of the movement that is global women's soccer.

But not all is coming up roses. There were deplorable instances of racism and misogyny around the WEuros and it begs the question, with the growth of women's soccer, do we also see a burgeoning cloud of racism expanding overhead? With all the growth and attention, does it come with heightened forms of abuse in women's sport? This has been reported on with respect to the WNBA, and reporting shows that there is a "darker vibe shift" in women's sports spaces. Discussions of safety protocols and strategies should be top of mind. 

Jess Carter of England's Lionesses and NWSL's Gotham FC posted online that she was stepping away from social media because of the rampant racist and misogynistic abuse she received after England lost their first match against France. The national team rallied around her and there was a sweep of support online for Carter and other Black players. The issue isn't only singling out a particular player for their ill-perceived performance. It's that attacks on racialized women will often be layered with misogynoir, xenophobia, and a litany of other societal cancers. 

The English squad has only a few of Black women, one of which, Michelle Aygemang, was hailed as the "super sub" because in two playoff matches, she came off the bench and scored the game-winning goals. Despite those achievements, people noticed that King Charles's statement of support ahead of the final omitted Aygemang's face completely. 

I spoke with Liz Mary Ward, who works with UEFA and other football organizations on diversity and inclusion, about what can be done to eradicate racism in the women's soccer ecosystem. 

"If Black and Brown people are already undervalued by society, and this is compounded by the media, I think that creates a base-level of injustice that provides a fertile breeding ground for hate," Ward said. "When cultural commentators point out these very low-level micro aggressions, they are often met immediately with anger, defensiveness, or cries of reverse-racism, which tends to very quickly end in racist comments and threats." 

I can certainly add that racialized women columnists also get intense levels of abusive emails or messages if they speak out against racism or toxic cultures within sport. 

It almost feels unjust that as women's sport grows and continues to thrive, we see increased hatred hurled at women.

Are the league and governing bodies prepared to manage this onslaught of abuses? FIFA recently decided to cancel anti-racism messaging at the men's Club World Cup venues in the U.S. just weeks before the women's tournaments. Would it set a precedent? Minky Warden of Human Rights Watch said, "Any cancellation of FIFA's well-established campaigns to eradicate hateful actions in sport is an inexplicable and inexcusable step backward."

During the NSL pre-season, Montreal Roses player Latifah Abd posted to her Instagram story about receiving abuse steeped in misogynoir. The NSL responded immediately.

I reached out to FIFA, UEFA, Canada Soccer and the NSL to ask whether they had a sense of accountability, and any policies and strategies to eradicate racism in women's sport. 

The NSL said it fosters a positive environment in the stadiums, and enforces codes of conduct for fans, employees and players, and a third-party reporting system of violations of policies.

Canada Soccer said it needed more time to properly respond, but In the past it has offered anti-racism literacy and action learnings and workshops in the past. According to its website, Canada Soccer has an "ongoing commitment to amplify the stories of our Black athletes and leaders."

UEFA responded with a long list of policies and practices consisting of awareness, engagement and actions — including their partnership with Fare's match observer program. In 2021, UEFA approved a human rights commitment and, almost ironically, UEFA said "a human rights declaration issued in March 2025, under which the Swiss federal government, host cities, the Swiss Football Association and UEFA made a joint declaration to respect, protect and promote human rights at this summer's UEFA Women's Euro 2025 tournament."

FIFA said their policies and practices, including the FIFA Social Media Protection service which filters online abuse, protect players, teams and officials. UEFA has a similar program. I am not aware whether Carter or Abdu registered for these programs. 

Online abuse can often muddy the waters because it's difficult to track commenters down and penalize them or hold them accountable. There should be lifetime bans from soccer events and matches for racist abuse in stadiums and online. 

The reality is that despite all the well-intentioned programs in the world, racialized and misogynist hatred can fester. One can have a barrage of policies and practice but whether they are effective remains to be seen. Much of this boils down to the human aspect: action and reaction from us — whether we are on the pitch, in the press box or in the stands. 

"How we all learn from moments like this is key," Ward said. "And supporters taking time to learn about different communities' experiences within their environments is key to creating a culture that is more inclusive. Learn about racist dog whistles, learn about your own biases, and become absolutely dedicated to always calling out injustice."