I worry about the climate but didn’t think more than 40 Women’s World Cup players would sign up to create a positive environmental legacy for the tournamentIf I had to pinpoint one moment when I started to really think about climate change it would be in 2009 when Cop15 was held in Copenhagen. Since then, my interest has just been growing and I have become more and more concerned about the future.My efforts to change my behaviour and reduce my carbon footprint didn’t come all at once, but gradually I have adjusted things in my life to be more carbon friendly. What is driving me is that the countries and the people that are least responsible for this situation are...
Investment is key but I am confident our report into the game can help turn vicious cycles into virtuous onesWhen I played for England, we had a saying that each individual was a custodian of the shirt and it was their job to leave it in a better place by the time they finished. I see my role in leading the review into women’s football in a similar vein, hoping that through the efforts of the team that took part we will have done the same for the game as a whole through our research and recommendations.The headlines in the women’s game make it look as if it is in a healthy position: records for attendances and TV viewing figures...
The manager used all of her attacking riches in a bid to break down Portugal before their World Cup adventure beginsWhen it comes to foreign travel there are two types of people. The first leaves things late, hits the check-in desk just before closing, takes foreign currency from the airport cash point and forgets to print out the car hire voucher. The second, well, suffice to say that this group would include Sarina Wiegman.A friendly stalemate in the benign surrounds of Milton Keynes is unlikely to offer much in the way of insight as to how the Women’s World Cup will pan out when it kicks off this month. But it did show the England head coach placing an emphasis...
A new documentary about women’s sport charts its painful climb from niche-sporting-subculture to the mainstream and prompts questions about the futureOn Tuesday, a new documentary about women’s sport, Game On, received its premiere, and the London screening was followed by a Q&A with some of its participants. When the former rugby union international Ugo Monye was asked what he felt on seeing it, he couldn’t speak for tears – it took a few attempts, and a hug from a fellow panel member, before he could fashion a response.Here was a fitting reminder of how emotive the subject of women’s sport can be. The provoking of a tear or two has always been the sign of a truly memorable moment in...
Fifa has a point in asking broadcasters to pay more for the tournament but the game needs a quick solution If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound? If a World Cup kicks off on the other side of the world but no one can watch it, does it really happen?We are 43 days out from the Women’s World Cup starting in Australia and New Zealand but, with Fifa threatening a blackout because of low offers for the broadcast rights from the biggest European footballing countries, you wouldn’t know it. There are no adverts, no references to coverage and there is no buildup. Instead, prospective viewers and existing fans in those countries have been left in...