As our small screens are dominated by female athletes tomorrow, it’s an exciting time for women’s sports in Ireland as experts say its visibility has increased significantly over the past five years.
eath will take on Kerry in the All-Ireland football final, which will be broadcast on TG4, while RTÉ will show England vs Germany in the UEFA Women’s Euro Final.
It is the first time ever that the national broadcaster has broadcast all of the women’s Euro matches, which is “so important” according to RTÉ sports presenter Jacqui Hurley, who will commentary on Sunday’s final.
“If you had asked me 10 years ago that we would be in this position I wouldn’t have believed it. The speed of the past five years has surpassed anything we’ve done in the past 20,” she told the Irish independent.
“When I started in RTÉ in 2006, the only [women’s sport] we aired was the camogie finale. Since then, we’ve added all of the women’s competitions to the ROI and our camogie output has increased tenfold. It’s phenomenal the increase in things we do.”
The sports presenter said he saw an increase in people wanting to talk to her about women’s football this year in particular.
“I’ve had some people come up to me and say they’re really enjoying the European Championship, which hasn’t happened before,” she said.
“The World Cup attracted a little bit of attention in 2019, but this time I have the feeling that the public is much more used to it.
“People just put the football on and watch it, regardless of their gender.”
Ellen McConville, who is an account manager with Teneo’s sports advisory team, said there has been a shift in the way women’s sports are viewed and companies are much more willing to sponsor women’s teams.
“There is an increase, a drive and further commitments from stakeholders,” she said.
“I don’t think you can look back 10 years ago and say it’s the same, it’s definitely different and it’s great to watch.”
According to Teneo’s Sports and Sponsorship Index (TSSI 2021), 46 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed tuned in to a female sporting event last year.
However, 60pc said they still don’t believe women’s sports are getting enough media coverage in Ireland.
Ms. McConville said sponsoring women’s sports is a great investment for companies because it is currently less messy than it is for men.
“Women’s sport is definitely a commercial investment, unfortunately in the past it would have been seen as a check-off,” she said. “It would have been seen as ‘you can have the men – so in addition you can have the women’, they would have been a bit of an afterthought.
“While it isn’t now, the space is less cluttered, the men’s sport can be very noisy, so if you’re a brand going in there, it can be hard to get through, so for your spending, you get more value for your money.”
Ms McConville gave the example that even people who are not sports fans know that Lidl sponsors the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA), while the men’s association has three top sponsors who she says are not that well known.
She added that not only is women’s sport getting more attention in Irish media, but it is also being treated “with a lot more standard”.
“In the past we’ve seen ads of women in bikinis. It’s been very provocative and there’s been a shift towards portraying how it should be, which is analyzing and criticizing and holding to a standard that it should meet,” said Mrs. McConville.
“Maybe the story would have been in the past if a team didn’t do well, well, at least they tried their best, but that’s not what people want to hear, they should be given the same respect as men’s sport.
“The famous sports stars will want people to be strict with them.”
According to the TSSI, the top three places in Ireland’s ‘Most Admired Sports Star’ last year were three women: boxers Katie Taylor and Kellie Harrington and jockey Rachael Blackmore.
Ms McConville said the success of these three women and other Irish female sports stars has contributed significantly to increasing the visibility of women’s sport.
Ms Hurley agreed, adding that the quality of sports such as camogie and Gaelic football has skyrocketed, leading to increased interest in the games.
“The quality of the game has never been higher, it’s phenomenal,” she said.
“So I think that’s a lot, people realize it’s come by leaps and bounds, and there’s also more visibility, companies are sponsoring it and big media companies are behind it.
“When I was playing you were lucky if you got a team overview of who is involved, now you open your papers, turn on your television and you are much more likely to see them and that is the driving force behind the change.
“But I also think it’s a responsibility for all of us to recognize that we needed to do better.”