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This book offers an in- depth examination of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup (2023 FWWC) hosted in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. The 2023 FWWC was a landmark event in the history of women's sport, in terms of audience, revenue, spectacle, and global reach, and has assumed wider significance beyond sport as a result of the controversial events immediately after the final game.
Featuring the work of leading researchers from around the world, this book examines some of the key issues that arose during and after the 2023 FWWC. It provides an international perspective on the politics of women's football and explores topics including media, fandom, Indigeneity, legacy policies, tourism, and the organisational politics and strategies of international federations. It also sheds light on the inherent sexism, gender inequalities, and biased media framings that remain pervasive in the women's game.
This is the second book on the 2023 FWWC from the editorial team of Adam Beissel, Julie E. Brice, Verity Postlethwaite, and Andy Grainger. It is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport studies, event studies, gender studies, sociology, or political science.
List of contents
Introduction: Critical Perspectives on the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup: Events, Issues, Controversies
Adam Beissel, Julie E. Brice, Verity Postlethwaite and Andy Grainger
PART I: Coverage of the 2023 Women's World Cup
1. #SeAcabó Movement: The Origin and Repercussion of Alexia Putellas' post on X
Joaquín Piedra
2. Grievance Games: American Sport Grievance Culture and FOX Sports' Coverage of the United States Women's National Team During the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Eleanor Crabill, Matthew Holder and Adam Beissel
3. Streaming Like a Girl: The Case of Brazil's Cazé TV During the 2023 Women's World Cup
Soraya Barreto Januário and Jorge Knijnik
4. Examining the Female-Centric Messages within Sport-Based Television Advertisements During the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023
Rachel Batty
5. Mediated Narratives of Health at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Anna Goorevich
PART II: Experiences of the 2023 Women's World Cup
6. Unpacking Motivation: Factors Influencing Women's Travel to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand
Jonathan R. Oliveira and Felipe B. Tobar
7. Tricornes & Rainbow Flags: Contestation over Practices, Identities, and Feminism in U.S. Women's National Team Fan Spaces
Chris W. Henderson and Eileen Narcotta-Welp
8. A Historic First: Exploring the Perspectives and Experiences of Philippines Women's National Team Heritage Players and Supporters
Kristi Oshiro, Ashlyn Hardie and Marlene Dixon
9. A Collaborative Approach to Football Fieldwork: Feminist Reflexivity in Action at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Julie E. Brice, Holly Thorpe, Tarlan Chahardovali, Eleanor Crabill, Lindsey A. Freeman and Monica Nelson
10. Boots on the Ground: What it is Really Like Working in Football During a FIFA Women's World Cup
Alida Shanks and Chelsey Taylor
PART III: Navigating the 2023 Women's World Cup
11. The Long Rise of Women's Football in Morocco
Kadija Bouyzourn, Andy Grainger and Hillary J. Haldane
12. A Showcase for the Development of Women's Football in Africa? The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and the Under-Representation of Women Coaches
Kevin Braybrook and Andy Grainger
13. African Women Rising: Africa's 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Derek Catsam
14. Asia's Growing Presence at the FIFA Women's World Cup
Verity Postlethwaite and Rei Saito
15. The Struggle of Colombian Women Footballers and the Political Dimensions of the FIFA Officialised Era Post-1991
Gabrila Ardila Biela and Mark Biram
PART IV: Legacies of the 2023 Women's World Cup
16. 'Legacy '23' and Sport Participation for Women and Girls in Regional Australia
Alana Thomson, Millicent Kennelly, Meghan Casey and Kiera Staley
17. Beyond Greatness? 11 days in tepoti-Dunedin
Mark Falcous and Madison Poingdestre
18. Leaning on Legacy: Women's Football Fans and Progress Narratives of the Women's World Cup
Rachel Allison and Stacey Pope
19. FIFA Women's World Cup Lessons: Gender Pay Parity Strengthens Integrity
Catherine Ordway and Christina Philippou
20. Mind the Gap: FIFA, Women's Football, and the Progress Narratives of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
Andy Grainger and Adam Beissel
About the author
Adam Beissel is an Associate Professor of Sport Leadership and Management at Miami University, USA. Adam's research and scholarship interrogates the political economy of sport mega-events and the geopolitics of sport. In addition to his research on the 2023 Women's World Cup, he is currently working on a research project exploring the geopolitics of the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Julie E. Brice is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at California State University Fullerton, USA. Julie's research and scholarship focuses on the socio-cultural and political forces that impact women's experiences of their moving bodies and across women's sports more broadly. This includes explorations into women's fitness practices and understandings of their bodies, professional women's soccer and mega-events, and the use of posthumanist and new materialist theories for exploring fitness, sports, and physical culture.
Verity Postlethwaite is a Lecturer in Strategic Event Management in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University, UK. Verity's research and innovation projects focus on how events can be used as a catalyst for social and community changes. This includes examinations of gender inequalities, perceptions of disability, and geographical challenges across the life course and different facets of events hosted in the UK, Japan and Australia.
Andrew Grainger is a Lecturer in Sport Development, Leisure, and Recreation at Western Sydney University in Sydney, Australia. Andy's research and teaching focuses on the critical, socio-historical analysis of sport, leisure, health, and physical culture. His current research projects explore the globalisation and political economy of football.
Report
"Casts a light on intricate and complex experiences, identities, power, and material conditions of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, an important resource for actors working to address gender inequalities and to realise safe and inclusive football and sport broadly for girls and women in all their diversity."
Dr Lombe Mwambwa, Research Director, Global Observatory for Gender Equality & Sport, Switzerland.
"Bringing together experts from various fields, this book offers a deep exploration of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, revealing the event's global significance and the evolution of women's football, making it a crucial read for those passionate about women's sports."
Professor Emma Sherry, School of Management, RMIT University, Australia.
"Critical Perspectives on the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup: Events, Issues, Controversies represents diverse and international perspectives. It is a thoughtfully curated publication, critically examining a wide range of topics related to the FIFA Women's World Cup, 2023. This thought-provoking volume will be of great value to sport scholars, students, and practitioners."
Professor Sally Shaw, School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Otago, Aotearoa New Zealand.
