In this week’s Women in Sport Weekly, supported by our partnership with Lidl, we look at the first quarter of our Women of Influence List, advances in TV coverage across the water, the return of the Underdogs to Ladies Gaelic Football and the move towards a professional game in Welsh Women’s Rugby…
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50 WOMEN OF INFLUENCE LIST UP AND RUNNING
The ninth edition of our Sport for Business listing of 50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport is up and running. So far we had over 150 different women nominated for the role they are playing in and around sport, as well as the influence they are having in many different areas.
The first dozen to make the list have now been published and include seven CEO’s, three from the field of play, one International team manager and one Minister.
We will continue to add to the list every day over the coming weeks and are committed to 30 per cent of this year’s names being new.
We are proud to work this year with a new partner in AIG, an organisation that have pledged their commitment to equality in their partnerships with Gaelic Games, Tennis, Golf and more, for whom “Effort is Equal” and with whom we have ambitious plans to extend the reach of this annual celebration of the Women who are making a difference.
So, who do you think should be on the list for 2021?
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KATIE MCCABE SCORES UNIQUE DOUBLE
Republic of Ireland Captain Katie McCabe has been named as the Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Month for October and has doubled up by also sealing the vote for Goal of the Month.
It is a rare double in what has become the Premier League in more ways than one, and a huge credit to a player that has also excelled in the Republic of Ireland start to our World Cup Qualifying Campaign.
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WOMENS SUPER LEAGUE HITTING THE MARK
Research from Nielsen Sports has revealed that the English Women’s Super League, where Katie McCabe was awarded Player of the Month for October this week, is heading towards being the fourth most-watched sports competition across all channels in the UK.
An average of 501,000 viewers are tuning in for games shown live and free to air on the BBC with an average of 114,000 for each of the games being shown on Sky Sports.
This is the first year of a three year deal that is transforming the engagement with the League and clearly delivering for all sides.
The research also reveals a younger demographic being drawn to the games with 35 per cent of the audience between the ages of 16 and 30, compared to a comparable 26 per cent in the Men’s game.
Fan engagement is spreading to social media channels as well. The combined following of Chelsea, Arsenal Tottenham and Manchester United on Facebook and Instagram has risen 22 per cent since the start of the season in September and now stands at 14.4 million.
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WELSH RUGBY UNION TO PUT 25 WOMEN PLAYERS ON CONTRACT
The Welsh Rugby Union is to award its first ten professional contracts across the Women’s game, with an additional fifteen being given extra financial and preparation assistance.
It represents a €2.2 Million investment in the women’s game with Nigel Walker of the Welsh Rugby Union confirming that there was now a strong and long term commitment to the professionalisation f the sport.
The timing comes as Amanda Bennett begins her review of where the game is here. Interesting food for thought.
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WOMEN IN FRONT FOR BBC
Over 2 million viewers tuned into last week’s triple header of action from the Women’s FA Cup and the Women’s Autumn Internationals.
The games were shown live and free to air on the BBC and the world did not stop turning.
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UNDERDOGS RETURN
TG4 has brought back one of our favourite shows with the return of Underdogs.
This year they have gone back to Ladies Football, arguably looking to recreate the best series over the past 11 years, where the storytelling was on a different level altogether and the strains of Leona Lewis’ cover of Snow Patrol’s Run still bring back fond memories to this day.
The show is based on the premise of finding and moulding a team of Gaelic footballers that have come close to ‘County’ but not quite, or maybe not yet, made the breakthrough.
They are found, then cut, then trained, then cut, then finally filmed in a live game against a major inter-county team.
It’s the sporting equivalent of those talent shows that play with our emotions and still find an occasional gem.
And it’s homegrown, conducted through a hybrid of Irish and English, and just damned good television.
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Each week we carry a Women in Sport Weekly Column, highlighting stories here in Ireland and around the world that are relevant to the idea that we are only catching up to what is happening elsewhere and that while we may be strong in some areas, there are certainly others where we need to prod and poke to ensure fairness.
That’s all, it’s not a takeover, it’s not at the expense of sport that is there already, it is just recognition that sport should be more conscious of its obligation to the 50.5 per cent of the population that has just as much right and talent to play sport as anyone.
If you think there is a story around Women in Sport that we should feature please get in touch and let us know.
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