This book takes a close look at the themes of media and communication in the context of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, one of the most attended women’s sporting events in history.
Featuring the work of leading researchers from around the world, the book examines how the tournament was represented through traditional, digital and social forms of media, and considers how an analysis of media and communications in, around and after the tournament can help to illuminate our understanding of key themes in the study of women and sport. The book presents a series of important and fascinating cases - including media representation of Muslim women at the tournament; analysis of media reaction to USWNT results; the role of podcasts in the coverage of the tournament, and a social media analysis of sexual violence toward women athletes at the WWC – that together form a multi-layered picture of a seminal event in the history of women’s sport.
This book is vital reading for anybody with an interest in women’s sport, gender and sport, the sociology of sport, media studies, communication studies, event studies or sport business and management.
1. Introduction: Why Does the Coverage of Women’s Soccer Matter?, PART I - On Traditional Media Channels: Global Coverage Inbounds, 2. What is Women’s Soccer? Comparing the Societal Function of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Global Media Coverage, 3. Media Representation in Canada: Finding Space Beyond the Inspiration Ethos for CANWNT, 4. A News and Social Media Analysis of Sexual Violence Toward Women Athletes at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: FIFA Must Show the Red Card to Sexual Abuse, 5. Media Framing of Aitana Bonmatí Before, During and After the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Good Morning, Catalonia, 6. One Nation, One Team? The U.S. Women’s National Team and the Politics of Failure, 7. How Time Zones Acted as a Barrier and Impacted Viewership and Allegiance for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Adjust your Clock, 8. Journalism Professors Take Students to the Press Box: Studying Abroad at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 9. The Role of Instagram in Enhancing the Traditional Media Coverage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, PART II - On Digital and Social Media: What the World Sees Beyond the Pitch, 10. Exploring the Role of Podcasts in Coverage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 11. How Australia’s Matildas Shattered Coverage Norms and Established Themselves as Financial Juggernauts Through ‘Family’, 12. Colombia Made History On the Pitch at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but Came Up Short in the Digital Media Space, 13. “Unbelievable… The Emotions Football Can Give You”: The Construction of Loss Through USWNT Player Instagram Posts, 14. Athlete Branding During the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: An Analysis of Elite Players’ Use of Instagram Stories, 15. Megan Rapinoe as Athlete, Celebrity, And Advocate: Social Media Engagement and Brand Identity on Instagram, 16. Muslimness, Women, and Sport: Interrogating Instagram Reactions to Morocco’s Benzina at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
Molly Yanity is professor and director of the sports media and communication program at the University of Rhode Island, USA. A former sportswriter, Yanity also serves as a board member for the International Association for Communication and Sport. Danielle Sarver Coombs has widely published research centered on politics, sports, and the politics of sport. She is an expert on consumer insights research and understanding fandom. She is based at Ravensbourne University London, UK.
Reviews for Media, Communication and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup
'The dearth of comprehensive research into the many aspects of women’s football has been noted time and time again. The exploration of the media coverage around the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Yanity's and Coombs' texts is a valuable, in-depth and gripping contribution to critiques of the rapidly changing media landscape around women’s football that can wield huge power.' Suzy Wrack, women's football correspondent, Guardian News & Media, UK
