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Women's Super League to be shown on the BBC

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments330

England women's game

BBC Two will air four FA Women's Super League programmes next season, providing goal round-ups, highlights, features and previews of England's World Cup qualifiers.

The BBC Sport website will also feature a weekly goals round-up throughout the Women's Super League season.

It will be the first WSL coverage to be shown on terrestrial television.

The Football Association's Kelly Simmons said: "This can be a watershed moment for the game in England."

The weekly goals round-up will also be shown on the BBC News Channel as part of Friday's Sportsday.

Simmons, the FA's director of national game and women's football, added: "Our elite football league being shown consistently on terrestrial television will enable us to take the game to a wider audience and engage new fans in the sport and, hopefully, inspire many more young girls to play the game."

In addition, BBC Two will air two further shows previewing women's football.

On 20 May Jacqui Oatley will look at the women's FA Cup final, ahead of of the game on 26 May.

A second programme on 8 July looks ahead to the European Championships which can be watched on BBC Three and BBC Two.

From autumn 2013, the BBC will also show England's World Cup qualifiers for the tournament in Canada in 2015.

BBC director of sport Barbara Slater said: "We're delighted to be increasing our coverage of women's football across all of our platforms. We look forward to bringing our audiences a great range of women's football over the coming months."

The women's game is growing in the UK and hopes are high for England's women in the tournament in Sweden. England lost 6-2 to seven-time winners Germany in the final four years ago.

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330 comments

  • Comment posted by User0583086086, at 16:04 8 Mar 2013

    Why so much media coverage for women's football when there is so little for Field Hockey?

    It is far better at representing female athleticism and standing alone as a sport. Women's football will always be in the shadow of men's football. Women's hockey on the other hand compares very well against men's hockey and more to the point i'd recommend it over women's football any day!

  • Comment posted by The truth shall not be spoken, at 21:18 8 Mar 2013

    The BBC's 'positive discrimination' is a joke. Trying to highlight women's football and African football in the name of political correctness but when the Copa America is on they don't even have the scores! What's next? Trans-gender football and wheelchair football? Leave it alone, when the women's game gets higher attendances than non-league maybe would be a better time to televise it.

  • Comment posted by Martin, at 16:46 8 Mar 2013

    Yay! Finally a chance to see Arsenal actually win something!

  • Comment posted by Commentator, at 17:27 8 Mar 2013

    I have tried to watch women's football, it mainly seems to be Arsenal, on the telly and the quality gap between that and the mens game is obvious. Not only in the speed of the game but the technique. So it becomes a bit frustrating. However, football on TV means money which will be great for this part of the game. Let's hope more women support it and watch the games as I doubt it will appeal much.

  • Comment posted by Welling 4 Promotion, at 23:08 8 Mar 2013

    It's worth it if its actually watched, but a championship game not televised can attract 20,000 supporters. Where as the womans international with Scotland today attracted less than 250 people.

  • Comment posted by User0228448133, at 19:38 8 Mar 2013

    minority sport where crowds of 500 watch elite league games is not worthy of television

    the BBC opens up a blog on womens footy 4 times a year

    it gets 400 comments with most saying they're not interested

    so BBC, take the hint. put it on after 2am by all means so all those people who champion it can watch it (or not watch it, which is probably the case)

  • Comment posted by User0050338804, at 17:27 8 Mar 2013

    Really? Broadcasting or not, most people, even other females, will not want to watch or hear about women's football. Compared to Men's the football on display is absolutely poor. A conference league men's team would likely beat the world's best women's national team, so why would people used to watching the might of Barca etc. want to watch this?

  • Comment posted by User0362458550, at 21:15 8 Mar 2013

    Women's football could be improved drastically by making the goals 7 feet x 7 yards, then it wouldn't just be a contest to see who can lob the keeper most times.

  • Comment posted by User0763631003, at 10:45 9 Mar 2013

    Don't really see the point in showing this. I watched some of the Olympics and that was a terrible standard. I'd have thought the BBC would have been better getting more Championship football or some of the other lower league games than this.

    Nevermind it'll show the BBC are committed to equality television, but not actually quality television!

  • Comment posted by djh222, at 17:43 8 Mar 2013

    @37 How did I break the rules BBC!!!!

    I spoke the truth. Womens football is rubbish!

  • Comment posted by Comrie, at 21:54 8 Mar 2013

    @189. Nobody is denying women the right to play football at all. It's just that I don't see the viability of broadcasting it on a network that we (the taxpayer) fund. Although the number of women who partake and watch football is growing it is still a massively male dominated sport, so I can only guess they are aiming for the PC niche market, that's all.

  • Comment posted by celticwarrior69, at 20:27 8 Mar 2013

    I'm afraid the BBC are just looking for anything that Sky haven't already snapped up.
    Lets be honest, Sky have nearly all the premier events and present them superbly - the BBC are resigned to showing second rate sports events that hardly anyone wants to watch.
    Without wanting to sound too condescending to women's football it will never attract the audience our licence fee warrants!

  • Comment posted by who_dat, at 17:40 8 Mar 2013

    I've watched women's football and it can be entertaining.
    However, if a game clashes with men's football or rugby (league/union) they will miss out.

  • Comment posted by justice96ynwa, at 16:15 8 Mar 2013

    It wont be the worst thing on tv or even BBC TV so I dont see why some have a problem with it, Im unlikely to watch often myself but would sooner put it on that watch Celebrity whatever or reality shows for sure

  • Comment posted by User0695862378, at 09:30 9 Mar 2013

    Rob (comment 277)
    In the last 12 months only 11,000 people have seen fit to part with a fiver to watch England women play. There is no interest in women's sport, no interest=no way to justify coverage. That is not ignorance, or misogyny -- it is fact.
    And yes, they do have more chance of success, but club is king, Rob. No-one cares about England so long as their club wins.

  • Comment posted by User0348912552, at 23:20 8 Mar 2013

    @219 DC.

    Its finally nice to someone with intelligence on this comment thread.

    Women's football might have low attendance rate, but having its on say ITV or Channel 5 replacing half the rubbish consumer based shows would really boost its viewing and populace. it seems no matter our views we will be badly voted by the masses tonight, its quiet shocking in this day and age.

  • Comment posted by Philip, at 15:56 8 Mar 2013

    More football on the BBC. I'm happy with that.

  • Comment posted by User0348912552, at 23:03 8 Mar 2013

    @179

    Your childish comment made no sense.

    Football is a global sport played by ALL ages and BOTH sexes, why should'nt the different variants of it deserve to be viewed on TV in the UK by BBC or ITV or channel 5 just because you find it less entertaining doesnt mean others do, dont drag me down to your level of intelligence just because you dont favor anything other the male version.

  • Comment posted by Comrie, at 21:43 8 Mar 2013

    I gave women's football a chance at the last major tournament. While there are some talented female players (Necib, Marta for instance) the general quality of play is woeful and usually results in people trying to belt twenty yarders that keepers who are barely 5'7" can't get anywhere near in the full size goals. I might check it out but I'm not overly optimistic of it being of any real interest.

  • Comment posted by MoonInUranus, at 15:52 8 Mar 2013

    Actually I think this is precisely the right thing for BBC2 to do - a portion of the licence fee, by definition, is supposed to go towards representing (and entertaining) those with minority interests.

    Women's football is a minority sport (in terms of viewing figures, I'll bet it will be on a par with Bowls) and so this is the right place for it.

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