The initial numbers from this morning’s Lidl backed research into Women’s sport were sobering to say the least with the numbers feeling that a trip to watch Women’s sport live was not as attractive as watching Men’s games on the TV.
Those who have advocated strongly for a change in the way that women’s sport is perceived and in the behaviour of media, sports fans and the general public have seen massive improvements over recent years but coming from such a low original base means that even those improvements pale when held up to a lens of true equality.
But this is a long game and we cannot ease up in terms of fighting for fairness in the way in which boys and girls are introduced to sport, and how men and women get to play, watch and be entertained.
Lidl Ireland CEO JP Scally turned the figures on their head by seeing them as an opportunity to build on what has been gained and to keep on pressing.
We watched a sneak preview of the brilliant new Lidl ad which will air on Irish TV for the first time this Sunday and it speak to the fact that great sport is not a gender based idea.
Players give the same effort and deserve the same recognition and while the LGFA is not yet 50 years old and does not have the generational support base that men’s sport has, things are getting better, and faster.
Lidl have committed to backing the coming year’s campaign to #GetBehindTheFight with €3 Million of support. That’s proper partnership.
This morning’s launch was about learning from the past and looking to the future
Holly Murdock, Head of Operations, Women’s Professional Game at the English FA said, “It has been incredible to see the growth of the women’s professional game in recent years, with the hard work of everybody across our clubs and leagues coming to fruition in the shape of the record-breaking attendances we have been seeing across the board.”
“We are seeing more and more games being played in the main stadia across England and Europe and those stadia being filled.”
“We are fan obsessed while remaining player-centric and we need to maintain the different friendlier atmosphere that the Women’s games generate.”
“It is important to instil the passion that comes with club allegiance but to do it withyout the poson that can sometimes spill over.”
“We have seen 59,000 at the Emirates Stadium, 43,000 at Old Trafford and 14,000 at Ashton Gate, these attendances have seen history made over the course of the last few seasons.”
“Selling out Wembley Stadium for the Final of the Euro’s was a massive milestone and we need to keep on reaching higher in our ambition.
That ambition was what drove Lynsey Peterson and the University of Nebraska to deliver Volleyball Day and set a world record for attendance of 92,003, for a college sport where the student body is only 22,000.
“We saw first-hand with Volleyball Day in Nebraska what can be accomplished when female sports are given an opportunity,” she said.
“Selling out a football stadium with a crowd of 92,003 for a women’s college volleyball match is a huge deal. We saw all over the country this past season, volleyball programs were setting record attendances and breaking TV ratings records frequently. We need to continue to invest in women’s athletics and support our female athletes. We took a big step forward this past year, and the future is very bright.”
We will have an interview with Lynsey Peterson on the Women in Sport Series of the Sport for Business Podcast dropping tomorrow.
Stephanie Roche, Gordon Darcy and Carla Rowe, Dublin TG4 All-Ireland winning captain and Lidl Ambassador, also spoke at the event, giving insight from beyond the world of Gaelic Games on how the Women’s game needs to keep on innovating and keep on being brave.
“As a player, having fans in the stands makes a world of difference,” said Rowe.
“It’s not just about the support, it’s about creating an atmosphere that fuels the passion for the game. The roar of the crowd and energy from fans can often be the missing ingredient that teams need to get the win or change up game play, taking the match to new levels of excitement.”
“The potential for this game really is unlimited, and we’ve seen how the Irish public can rally around female stars like Katie Taylor to drive them to success. Just think what we could achieve with the backing of more supporters not only at the big finals, but local games too. Making a collective effort to celebrate and elevate women in sports, from grassroots to the elite level will change the game for all of us.”
Join us tomorrow for the Podcast around the event, an opinion piece on its importance and over the coming days for more on this story.
Read more of our coverage from this morning on the numbers from the research
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