The Beeb's Women's Football Own Goal

John Wragg says The BBC Would Be Doing The Women’s Game A Favour If They Toned Down The Hype.

IS WOMEN’S football over-hyped? Undoubtedly. Is the BBC the main culprit of this? Yes.

How can France Women v South Korea Women be prime time television? It obviously isn’t but the BBC treated the opening game of the women’s World Cup as though it was the men’s World Cup.

It isn’t, and it does the women’s game no favours.

There are other idiotic things like comparing record women’s World Cup goalscorer, Brazilian Marta da Silva, with Ronaldo and Pele.

Marta is the only player - male or female - to score at five different World Cups.

So what? Stop trying to compare. This is not like-for-like. If women’s football is to truly establish itself then it has to stand alone and not piggy back for attention off the men’s game.

The BBC had women’s football all over its website and TV coverage as if it was the men’s competition. But it isn’t.

All those over 75s who will have to pay £154.50 for their TV licences from next year, would they have thought this was value for the money they should not even be required to spend?

The reason the BBC hype women’s football so much is because they haven’t got a lot else they can shout about.

Live men’s football has more or less gone, cricket, motor racing has all sold itself to the highest pay channel bidder, with the BBC clinging on to tennis and athletics and, er, netball.

Tune into Radio 5 Live and it’s cringing to hear commentary on an English Women’s Super League game as if it were Manchester United v Arsenal in the Premier League.

Let’s have a look at that.

Manchester United were late to the women’s party. The women’s team was only launched last season and they won the Championship (second division) and make their Women’s Super League debut this summer.