Steady progress and increased visibility ensure women's sport continues to take off – The Irish Times
As the annual Teneo Sport and Sponsorship Index (TSSI) shows, the momentum of the women in sport movement in Ireland has been steadily increasing for several years. This 1,000-person, nationally representative research effort has been examining Irish people's attitudes to sport and sponsorship for 14 years, with a particular focus on women's sport since 2018.
Over the past six years, this research has shown where progress has been made in various areas and where there is still work to be done.
In 2022 and 2021, female athletes dominated the results thanks to incredible individual and team performances.
While this year's results do not show female athletes completely dominating, there is evidence of continued and sustained progress that is much sought after and welcome.
There have been no changes for the Irish people's most admired athlete and Katie Taylor, an Irish trailblazer in sport, takes the top spot for an incredible seventh year in a row.
Taylor's sporting achievements and her outstanding qualities as a dignified role model ensure that she transcends the sporting world and establishes herself as one of the most respected and recognized Irishmen of all time. Katie's impact extends far beyond sports fans, as this research shows to the general Irish public.
In another sign of progress in this area, Katie McCabe is the first woman from a team sport to make it into the top six of the most admired athletes category (4 percent).
This is thanks to her consistent performances for the Republic of Ireland, but also her performances for Arsenal, who are becoming increasingly well known to football fans in Ireland through heavy promotion of the Women's Super League across multiple media outlets. This is a clear signal that exposure and visibility have helped people appreciate their talents.
When it comes to media coverage of women's sport in Ireland, we see continued progress in the eyes of the Irish public: almost half (47 percent) say they believe women's sport receives enough media coverage. Thanks go to people like The Irish Times, RTÉ, TG4 and others who have made a conscious effort to support the women's codes. While these statistics are not current, they are the best since the TSSI began studying this issue in 2018.
Not just the quantity but also the quality of representation of women's sport in the media is important and again 80 per cent of the Irish public believe this has improved over the last 12 months. The level of coverage has undoubtedly increased, as has the quality of the product on the fields and in the arenas, as well as the analysis and scrutiny associated with it.
Improved coverage certainly pays dividends when we look at those who have tuned in to watch women's sports, either on television or online. 59 percent said they had done so this year. Among those over 55, it is 65 percent – the highest cohort by a significant margin.
This statistic is further strong evidence of progress, increasing from 52 percent last year to 46 percent in 2021. One would think that the Republic of Ireland's debut in the Women's World Cup, as well as the extensive coverage of the tournament provided by RTÉ, would have had a positive impact here. According to RTÉ figures, an average of 511,000 viewers watched the opening game between Ireland and Australia on RTÉ2 – representing 77 per cent of TV viewers – and there were a further 360,000 streams on RTÉ Player.
It should be noted that while this type of media coverage is extremely important for women's sports to generate interest and attention, it is not the make or break for a female athlete. Katie Taylor proves this, whose fights are taking place behind a paywall at a time not suitable for a young audience. But the enormous sports news attention she attracts and the subsequent notoriety of her fights ensure her profile remains high.
Encouragingly, three in five adults said they plan to watch a women's sporting event in 2024.
This time last year, the TSSI showed that almost a quarter (24 per cent) of the Irish public said they wanted to attend a women's sporting event in 2023, and in reality 19 per cent of people actually did.
Although this number may seem relatively low, we are still seeing progress here, having increased from 15 percent in 2022.
A significant cohort that sports organizations should embrace are 18- to 24-year-olds, 37 percent of whom have attended a women's sporting event in person this year and almost half (47 percent) said they will in person in 2024 want to be there is a group for everyone who plays sport in Ireland at all levels, who they really want to embrace and win over.
Next year will be a big one for Irish sport and women's sport. The Olympic and Paralympic Games will create new heroes and incredible stories. Heroes in the ring, on the track, on the water, in the water and on the hockey and rugby fields in Paris will dominate our screens.
A new era for Eileen Gleeson's Girls in Green and more local fame for our women's football and camogie stars awaits. The sustainable momentum for women in sport continues to grow.
– Kelli O'Keeffe is Managing Director of Teneo Ireland Sports Advisory
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