The Game Changers

Today’s guest is Jodie Ounsley – a professional rugby player and Honorary President of UK Deaf Sport, who will also be a Gladiator in the new series that returns to the BBC later this year. Jodie is a powerful role model for women and girls and talks openly about her deafness and how it’s impacted her life on and off the pitch.    She explains how she’s unintentionally been training for Gladiators...

The guests featured in the new series of The Game Changers could be the most diverse yet, with Olympic, World and Commonwealth Champions, alongside elite coaches, broadcasters, CEOs, Paralympic GB’s Chef de Mission and a Gladiator!  The Game Changers podcast features candid interviews with trailblazing women in sport who are knocking down barriers and challenging the status quo for women and girls...

To mark the fact that the entire Game On book is now available to listen to free on The Game Changers podcast, today we are sharing a previous episode in conversation with the author, Sue Anstiss  In this special episode of The Game Changers, recorded in front of a live audience, Sue is interviewed by the rather brilliant Hannah Wilkes from Sky Sports.   Sue shares much about her own relationship...

In this moving and thought-provoking episode of The Game Changers, I talk to Maria Bobenreith, Executive Director of Women Win, to explore how sport is being used to enable young women to exercise their rights across the world.  We consider how sport enables girls to develop their innate leadership, the power of joy to transform even the toughest lives and how nationalism trumps sexism when it com...

What’s the difference between ‘sports development’ and ‘sport for development’ and how are organisations using sport as a tool to generate social change. This chapter explores the powerful impact sport can have on the some of the most prevalent problems affecting women in the global South such as gender based violence, childhood marriage and lack of education opportunities. We consider what it is...

This chapter considers the inequalities we see more broadly in women’s sport - across all ages and abilities – and what’s finally being done to address this.  From little girls not allowed to join the boys playing football in the playground, teenage girls unable to play a sport they love because clubs don’t have girls teams, through to older women uncomfortable about exercising in public for fear...

Moya Dodd, one of the most influential women in global sport.  Former vice-captain of the Australian women’s football team, Moya served on the board of Football Federation Australia and Asian football's governing body, before she became one of the first women to join the FIFA Council, where she took a lead role on gender reforms. Moya still sits on FIFA committees along with the IOC Athlete’s...

In today’s chapter we address the lack of racial diversity in women’s sport – from grassroots participation through to our national teams and boardrooms. Why don’t England’s national teams in sports like cricket, rugby union, rugby league, football and hockey reflect the ethnic diversity of our society?   What did it take for sport to finally wake up to the issue, what’s being done to address it n...

Today we re-release an episode with Maggie Alphonsi, one of rugby's greatest female players.  Having helped England win a record breaking 7 consecutive Six Nations crowns and the 2014 World Cup, Maggie has gone on to be as influential off the field as she was on it. Maggie talks openly about how rugby changed her life, her experience of representing her country and how it felt to break new gr...

‘I hate the word homophobia. It’s not a phobia. You’re not scared. You’re an arsehole’. Morgan Freeman, 2012 Sport can be an incredibly inclusive space, welcoming women whatever their sexuality – and in many cases providing a haven for a young woman, potentially normalising her identity in a way she may not have experienced elsewhere. And yet sadly, society’s perception of LGBTQ+ women can also be...

It’s little wonder that broadcaster Laura Woods is so admired by men and women alike - her warmth, humour and humility are all on full display in this delightful interview for The Game Changers podcast.  We’re re-releasing it today to ensure that Laura’s wise words and authenticity reach an even bigger audience.  Twice voted the SJA Sports Presenter of the Year, Laura openly shares her journey to...

’Spare us the unaesthetic spectacle of women trying to look and act like men’ - IOC member, 1950 For too long sportswomen have faced the almost impossible task of competing as athletes whilst also maintaining what society deems as typically ‘feminine’ appearance in order to appeal to broadcasters, promoters and sponsors. And so we see women still playing elite sport in dresses, hiding their muscul...

Whilst I’m not sure any one chapter of ‘Game On’ is more important than the rest, if I had to pick one for all men to listen to it might be chapter 13 - ‘In The Red Corner’.  It’s ironic that historically it was men talking about ‘women’s bodies’ that led to the banning of them from sport, but now we have men in sport who don’t want to talk about women’s bodies, and that too has a negative impact....

In celebration of the fact that Denise Lewis received a Damehood in the New Years Honours, we’re delighted to re-release her interview on The Game Changers podcast this week.  Olympic gold medallist in the heptathlon and much loved by the British public, Denise is now President of Commonwealth Games England.  Along with her busy life supporting charities whilst raising her family, Denise regularly...

Why are just 10% of coaches at Olympics and Paralympics female? What stops women reaching the highest levels of elite sport as coaches?  It turns out it’s not the experience and skill of the women, but a system that disadvantages them at every stage.  From the perceptions of what make a ‘good coach’ through to way coaching courses are delivered, there’s so much that can be improved.  And then ther...

Think of the phrase male ally as a verb rather than a noun. How can you help drive gender equality in sport?  Game On charts the unstoppable rise of women’s sport, with many trailblazing, game-changing women leading the charge, but ultimately having men onside will be essential if true equality in sport is ever to be achieved. This week’s audio chapter of the book ‘Game On’ explores the topic of m...

Ian Wright has long been a male ally for women’s sport, but it was his outspoken remarks about equality in girls’ football, made on the BBC during last summer’s women’s Euros, that may have had the biggest impact.  To coincide with this week’s Game On audio chapter, which explores the role of male allies in sport, we’ve re-released a one of the most downloaded episodes of The Game Changers with Ia...

Following an incredible year for women’s football and the Lionesses, this week we’re re-releasing an episode with Baroness Sue Campbell – Director of Women’s Football at the FA.  Having led the National Coaching Foundation, established the Youth Sport Trust and Chaired UK Sport, Sue’s role at the FA has been transformational. It’s a fascinating and insightful conversation with one of the most resp...

‘The leadership and management of football, one of the most diverse games on the planet, is still controlled, fundamentally, by white men’. Dame Heather Rabbatts, 2020  It’s generally accepted that organisations led by diverse boards are more successful, have better governance and make better decisions. Yet for many sports not much has changed from the 1800s when organised sport was first develope...

This week we’re re-releasing an interview with an extraordinary sporting trailblazer - Maggie Murphy.  Maggie is now CEO at Lewes FC, the only professional club in the world to equally invest in its men’s and women’s teams.  Maggie sheds light on the huge disparity in pay in women’s sport - especially for the FA Cup.  This month Lewes FC women made history in qualifying for the FA Cup quarter fina...

We hear so much about female athletes as role models - but what impact do they really have? Does increased profile of elite sportswomen drive grassroots sports participation and do they help change perceptions about gender equality more broadly in society? And what of the way female athletes are depicted in sports media? Do we see them excelling in their sport like their male counterparts, or do o...

Stacey has represented her country at an international level in two sports –  football and boxing. Following a successful football career, where she represented England, played in the FA cup final, and played overseas for six years in the US and Sweden; Stacey then went on to pursue her dreams of a career in boxing.  During her six-year amateur boxing career, Stacey became European silver medallis...

Why do we see so few women working as sports journalists and does that impact the coverage of women’s sport?  The gender balance in sports broadcasting is getting better, but still women face relentless sexism and misogyny just for doing their jobs.  In this chapter we speak to some of the trailblazers in sports media including Jacqui Oatley, Anna Kessel and Elly Oldroyd.  What was it like in the...

I’m often asked if I have a ‘favourite’ amongst the 100+ trailblazers in women’s sport I have had the privilege of interviewing on The Game Changers podcast. Whilst it’s an impossible question to answer – I’ve learnt so much from all of the incredible women I’ve spoken to - there is one fascinating interview that always comes to mind as especially entertaining and moving.  Rose Reilly shares her e...

“Everyone thinks women should be thrilled when we get the crumbs and I want women to have the cake, the icing and the cherry on top too.” Billie Jean King, 2016 How will women’s sport ever thrive without equality in funding and investment?  It’s totally unrealistic to expect women’s team sport to reach the level of men’s when players have never had access to the same funding, prize money, professi...