Women in media set to roar at 2023 Women’s World Cup
- Tournament in Australia and New Zealand will be preceded by the Football Writers Festival, featuring an initiative promoting women journalists and broadcasters
- Emerging Women Writers programme aims to make football more inclusive
“If you don’t start somewhere, it’s never going to start. It is from little things that big things grow.”
As Australian author-publisher and football advocate Bonita Mersiades details the inaugural Emerging Women Writers programme, her propensity for making a move – at times against the run of play – becomes clear.
Mersiades did just that in launching a platform for aspiring women journalists, broadcasters and podcasters, despite still waiting for a response from organisers of next year’s tournament.
A former executive at the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) and team operations manager with the country’s men’s football side, Mersiades has been a long-time activist against inequities in sport.
“Given Australia is co-hosting the Women’s World Cup with New Zealand, and there are not enough women’s voices writing or broadcasting about the game, I remember thinking around 2020, ‘Why not encourage women to have a go?’” Mersiades said.
