Media, Communication and the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

1. Introduction: Why Does the Coverage of Women’s Soccer Matter?

Molly Yanity 

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

Alexis von Mirbach, Zehua Li, and Jörg-Uwe Nieland 

3. Media Representation in Canada: Finding Space Beyond the Inspiration Ethos for CANWNT

Ornella Nzindukiyimana and Matthew Hawkins 

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

Katie Olsen and Mildred F. Perreault 

5. Media Framing of Aitana Bonmatí Before, During and After the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Good Morning, Catalonia

Jeffrey W. Kassing and Grace-Ann M. Kominak 

6. One Nation, One Team? The U.S. Women’s National Team and the Politics of Failure

Brett Siegel 

7. How Time Zones Acted as a Barrier and Impacted Viewership and Allegiance for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Adjust your Clock

Ashley Ryder and Jillian McNiff Villemaire 

8. Journalism Professors Take Students to the Press Box: Studying Abroad at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

John Affleck and Vicki Michaelis 

9. The Role of Instagram in Enhancing the Traditional Media Coverage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Eleni Tsalkatidou 

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

Brittani Sahm 

11. How Australia’s Matildas Shattered Coverage Norms and Established Themselves as Financial Juggernauts Through ‘Family’

Molly Yanity and Lindy Briggette 

12. Colombia Made History On the Pitch at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but Came Up Short in the Digital Media Space

Francisco Buitrago Castillo 

13. “Unbelievable… The Emotions Football Can Give You”: The Construction of Loss Through USWNT Player Instagram Posts

Kate Harman 

14. Athlete Branding During the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: An Analysis of Elite Players’ Use of Instagram Stories

David Pulgarin-Mesa, Olan Kees Martin Scott and Bo Li 

15. Megan Rapinoe as Athlete, Celebrity, And Advocate: Social Media Engagement and Brand Identity on Instagram

Shannon Scovel and Mildred F. Perreault 

16. Muslimness, Women, and Sport: Interrogating Instagram Reactions to Morocco’s Benzina at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Nifsha Rizwan and Adam Ehsan Ali

Biography

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.

'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