THE question “#WhatIf” flooded social media last week. Behind it was the organistion Women in Football, set up more than 10 years ago by a network of professional women working in and around the football industry.
Their aim was to support and champion their peers, celebrate the achievements of women in football, challenge discrimination and share their professional expertise, and to date, they have succeeded in so many ways.
This latest campaign aims to make businesses, celebrities and members of the public think about identifying one way in which they could contribute to improving things for women and girls with the football industry.
It has created an open challenge to large companies to get on board with their own #WhatIf. A great deal of preparation was put into it, with 10 high-profile organisations involved sport in some way lined up and making their own #WhatIf pledges.
Twitter agreed to create an emoji just for women in football, in answer to the question in #WhatIf Twitter had an emoji for women in football? Betfair also signed up, with #WhatIf Betfair ringfencing 50 per cent of its Cash4Clubs grassroots grants for women’s teams. Forza Football agreed to make live score updates and results for women’s matches easily accessible across the world.
Another big campaign, #ShowUp, was also launched. It aims to encourage more people to attend women’s sporting events and to watch more women’s sport on TV. This is a collaboration between Sky Sports and the Women’s Sport Trust. Scotland must ensure it is at the table when these projects are launched. We can and must benefit from the knowledge and expertise behind these developments.
Our conference in June 8, #WeWantChange, will look at identifying the barriers for females in sport and hopefully, through debate, we will find some solutions that can be taken forward. Tickets are still available at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/breaking- down-barriers-for-females-and-sport-tickets-44145586638
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Callum Baird, Editor of The National
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