The advance of respect for Women in Sport has accelerated in recent years and is already in a better place than many might have imagined. But it has still got a long way to go to achieve the parity of esteem we have been pushing the agenda on for a decade. We have been far from alone but progress is all about today and tomorrow and we cannot ease up.
Change generally comes in smaller rather than larger gestures. In the everyday improvements that add up over time to make a real difference.
It’s the 24/7 spotlight that matters and to keep that on, Sport for Business, with the support of our Women in Sport Partner Lidl will, each Friday for the next 24 weeks, highlight seven things in the week gone by that have been important to note in the world of Women in Sport.
Week Ending December 16th, 2022
One: GENDER BALANCE AND THE FAI
The FAI AGM was adjourned in July because there had been no movement on encouraging or enabling better gender balance on the board.
The Government has set 40 percent target of balance which needs to be met by the end of next year or there would be a threat to Government funding, one that the FAI or any sporting body can ill afford.
It is also recognised as being the right thing to do.
Chair Roy Barrett fielded questions last night by saying that discussions had and were continuing to take place and that it would happen. Pressed again he gave the same answer.
The reality is that it needed three of the male directors to willingly step down and for female directors to be willing to step up and either be elected through the different strands of the football family or to be nominated as the best candidates to serve as independent directors.
To persuade or to have three directors out of ten recognise this and ‘take one for the team’ has only seemed to register with Richard Shakespeare from the Professional game.
The UCD Secretary and Deputy CEO of Dublin City Council had and could deliver real benefit to the workings of the Board but the demands of the day job and an acceptance that someone had to do it saw him step down and Niamh O’Mahony proposed to fill his position.
President Gerry McAnaney invited each of last night’s five candidates to take a minute (which was taken as an Irish minute) to state their case for why they as individuals should be voted onto the board either for the first time in O’Mahony’s case or for a renewal of their term in the case of the other four.
All gave very good reasons for their being elected, there is no suggestion that they are not very good candidates.
The issue is though that four are male and their two-year term will now extend beyond the deadline for gender balance. That means in order to comply, two out of the remaining five men on the board will have to step down.
Two: PAUW DEFENDS HER REPUTATION AND VALUES AFTER US ALLEGATIONS
Republic of Ireland Women’s Manager Vera Pauw has come out swinging in defence of her reputation after a report into coaching at Houston Dash cast a shadow over her year spent there.
“To suggest I would body shame any human being, footballer or not, is an insult to my personal values,” she said.
“I cannot allow this claim to go unchallenged.”
“Player welfare has always been of the utmost importance to me throughout my career. Nutrition is a hugely important aspect of professional football and my advice to players has always been to look after their nutritional needs and their health – and to always seek the advice of medical experts.”
Being a manager can sometimes feel like being on a tightrope in the wind. You are dealing with players that are younger than you, and having to exert a degree of discipline to help them achieve their personal best as part of a team.
Generally, if you are picking a team of 11 from a panel of 22, half of the group will be disappointed, and some may not handle the implied rejection at all well.
Sport is fabulous but it can also be brutal on those who we ask to entertain us and lift our spirits.
Having had the pleasure to interview Pauw on a number of occasions, we have absolute faith in her as a coach and a human being.
Three: VODAFONE WOMEN’S INTERPRO’S SET FOR JANUARY
Three rounds of fixtures for the 2022/23 Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Rugby Championships will take place on Saturdays, January 7th, 14th and 21st, 2023 with all games being broadcast free-to-air via TG4 and BBC iPlayer.
The first game of the championships sees Leinster welcome Connacht to Energia Park. Then that same afternoon defending champions Munster begin the defence of their title at home to Ulster in Musgrave Park.
Kingspan Stadium will play host to Ulster and Connacht in Round 2 on January 14th followed by Munster’s return to Cork for their clash with Leinster.
Connacht have home advantage on January 21st for their final round clash with Munster at The Sportsground, followed by Ulster and Leinster concluding their campaigns on the Arena Pitch at Queen’s University in Belfast.
In addition to the newly formed Celtic Cup, the championships will form a key part of Ireland’s preparation for the 2023 TikTok Women’s Six Nations. Details for the Celtic Cup where Ireland, Scotland and Wales will compete in a club or provincial format, will be announced shortly.
Four: KPMG WOMEN’S IRISH OPEN TO RETURN IN 2023
The KPMG Women’s Irish Open is to return to Dromoland Castle in 2023 and will take place from August 31st until September 3rd.
The tournament returned to the Ladies European Tour (LET) Schedule in 2022, following a ten-year absence, and was a major hit with players welcoming the professionalism of the setup and 24,000 fans turning out in record numbers for a regular Tour event in Europe.
Next year’s renewal will once again be managed and promoted by Forefront sports, with KPMG as Title sponsors and Dromoland Castle once more an essential part of the show. The 2023 event will take place three weeks earlier in the calendar and immediately precede the Horizon Men’s Irish Open at the K Club, the Solheim Cup in Spain, and the Ryder Cup in Italy in what will be an epic month for the sport.
Five: WOMEN’S VIEWING FIGURES SOAR
The Women’s Sports Trust in Britain has published new figures on TV viewing habits.
2022 has been a stellar year for women’s sports in the UK, with 43 million people having watched three minutes or more this year, and a total of 325 million hours viewed.
This year has also seen the most engaged audience with people watching an average of 7 hours and 50 minutes of women’s sport, seven times more than the 1 hour and 22 minutes in 2012.
Six: FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE HEADING NORTH
Seven: IRISH TIMES NAMES 25 WOMEN IN SPORT MOMENTS OF 2022
Malachy Clerkin and Mary Hanigan in the Irish Times have published a list of their 25 moments of the year for Women in Sport. It is a wildly impressive list and you can read it here (with an Irish Times subscription).
This column will return in January after a Christmas break…
