It’s been an exciting few weeks in the sporting world and as an agency, we’re particularly thrilled to see four major steps for women’s sport as we see increased exposure and equal opportunities rightly progressing into the sporting world.
First, Adidas announced it would pay equal bonuses for women’s World Cup winners on March 9th, which was quickly followed by Nike’s unveiling of world-first women’s football kits; kits designed specifically for the women’s game, not simply ported from the men’s version.
Then, on March 17th, Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 in front of a record 60,739 attendance for a top-flight domestic women’s game in Europe.
The following day, the Daily Telegraph announced it had appointed the first women’s sport editor at a UK national paper and have established a four-strong team dedicated to reporting on women’s sport. A huge step forward for the awareness and support of women’s sport.
Importantly, these four breakthrough moments have not only happened within quick succession of one another but have come from across the sporting world: brands, associations, fans and the media – a promising sign that these interdependent elements that drive sporting growth are all on board. When placed within the wider context of a building momentum around women’s sport, the past ten days can be used as a real marker of the growth – and that’s without even mentioning the SheBelieves Cup, which took place just three weeks ago. And England won, get in!
Hatch is currently working with the Rugby League World Cup 2021 team and recently delivered a host city announcement campaign, which revealed the tournament’s ambitious aim of being the most inclusive Rugby League tournament ever. Not only will the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments take place simultaneously, the women’s and men’s finals will be played as a double-header event at Old Trafford in Manchester.
“We’ll show you how it’s done”
A Rugby League World Cup Final at @ManUtd’s Old Trafford. We can’t wait!#InternationalWomensDay #IWD2019 #RLWC2021 pic.twitter.com/JWmKfEE1T2
— RLWC2021 (@RLWC2021) March 8, 2019
Increasingly, women’s sport will be positioned alongside the men’s games, and this can only be a good thing. The cyclical process of more coverage leading to more interest, leading to more investment, leading to a higher quality of fan experience and professionalism, leading to further coverage…and on it goes. This has been in motion for some time now but the last ten days has shown evidence that at each stage of the cycle there is real progress being made and women’s sport is receiving the attention it requires, and deserves, to grow. We will continue to watch with interest and contribute what we can as an agency to ensure this momentum doesn’t stop.
