The Stream

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019: A game changer for women’s football?

The Stream discusses how women’s battles fought on and off the pitch in this year’s tournament may impact the future of the sport.

Is this year’s Women’s World Cup changing attitudes towards women’s football? Compared to past tournaments, the event hosted by France this year is already breaking viewership records around the world.

The event has produced several historic moments including Brazilian footballer Marta becoming the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, Jamaica’s first-ever World Cup goal, Cameroon and Nigeria advancing to the knockout rounds for the first time, and the United States team’s record-breaking 13-0 win against Thailand.

In this episode, we’ll look at the highs and lows of the tournament so far and how the global event is being used by some as a platform to speak out against gender inequality. The top-ranked US team is still in the middle of a legal fight with its own federation for equal pay, and many other women’s national squads are using their World Cup platform to raise concerns surrounding gender discrimination and fair pay from their respective football federations.

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:
Erica Ayala, @elindsay08 
Sports writer & activist

Chidiebere Ezeani, @chidiebereTVC
Sports journalist, TVC News

Lauren Silver, @LoSilver_
Midfielder, Jamaican National Team

Onome Ebi, @EBIONOME
Defender, Nigeria Super Falcons

Read more:
Women’s World Cup 2019 power rankings: USA top, Germany rising – Guardian
African teams showed advancement at the Women’s World Cup. The way media talked about them didn’t. – ThinkProgress
USWNT lawsuit in the news, but pay equality a global fight at Women’s World Cup – ESPN

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