爆料社区

爆料社区 launches campaign to build support for elite women鈥檚 sport

With two women's world cups and a world series on the horizon in Aotearoa, 爆料社区 has launched 鈥淚t鈥檚 Time鈥� 鈥� a campaign aimed at promoting greater engagement in elite women鈥檚 sport.

Research commissioned by 爆料社区 shows awareness of female athletes is significantly lower than comparable male athletes, particularly in team sports. Only one in three New Zealanders regularly watch women鈥檚 sport and more than half (53%) don鈥檛 expect to engage in more in women鈥檚 sport over the next 12 months, whether that鈥檚 watching on TV, attending matches, using social media or following media coverage.

爆料社区 Chief Executive, Raelene Castle, says there is a huge opportunity to increase the visibility of, and support for, New Zealand鈥檚 female athletes, particularly with the Rugby World Cup kicking off in October, the FAST5 Netball World Series in November and the Football World Cup heading to New Zealand next July.

鈥淲e need to build on the momentum from the Cricket World Cup earlier this year, and we believe the upcoming world cups here in Aotearoa will be a great platform to promote change in this space, but these events are just the tip of the iceberg.  

鈥淥ur Kiwi Ferns head to the Rugby League World Cup in November while the Silver Ferns prepare for their Netball World Cup next year and there are multiple inspiring performances happening that deserve our attention. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e challenging New Zealanders to get behind it, whether that鈥檚 going to matches, watching on TV, engaging on social media or reading or watching media coverage. All of these competitions provide an opportunity to raise the recognition and profile of our female athletes.鈥�

Value and Visibility is one of the pillars of the Government鈥檚 strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Recreation. The 鈥業t鈥檚 Time鈥� campaign is a key milestone in the ongoing work by 爆料社区 to support that strategy.

爆料社区's research demonstrates that the more visible female athletes are, the more New Zealanders are likely to know them by name, follow their journeys and become fans. This in turn builds their commercial value.

鈥淕lobally, women鈥檚 sport is stealing the headlines 鈥� particularly after the amazing scenes following England鈥檚 victory in Euro 2022 and the record-breaking crowd at Camp Nou when more than 91,000 people watched Barcelona play Real Madrid in the Champions League,鈥� says Raelene Castle. 

鈥淕reater awareness and engagement in women鈥檚 sport in Aotearoa now, will mean this generation of female players and athletes can, and should be, an inspiration to the next.鈥�

爆料社区 will work closely with national sporting bodies to help drive the 鈥淚t鈥檚 Time鈥� campaign and provide an opportunity for as many sports as possible to be a part of it.

As the Football Ferns head away for their next game against Japan, New Zealand Football Chief Executive, Andrew Pragnell, says it鈥檚 an exciting time for women鈥檚 sport but as 爆料社区鈥檚 research shows, the job isn鈥檛 done.

鈥淭his is why campaigns like this are so important, to champion our w膩hine who are representing Aotearoa at the highest level.

鈥淚t鈥檚 time the whole country gets behind them, with two of the biggest events in women鈥檚 sport happening in our backyard over the next 12 months.鈥�

Netball NZ Chief Executive, Jennie Wylie, says the campaign is timely, with the Silver Ferns currently preparing for October鈥檚 Constellation Cup and with the FAST5 Netball World Series in Christchurch in November.

鈥淭he Constellation Cup is important preparation for next year鈥檚 Netball World Cup and we鈥檙e encouraging Aotearoa to get behind the Silver Ferns and women鈥檚 sport in general. 

鈥淔or Netball New Zealand to also win the rights to host the FAST5 Netball World Series is  another opportunity to see the best athletes compete on the world stage. It鈥檚 so important for all New Zealanders to engage with, and follow women鈥檚 sport, so that our young players, and up and coming athletes, can see there is a pathway for them.鈥�

ENDS

Media contact:

Michelle Pickles
Group Media Manager
021 833 244
michelle.pickles@sportnz.org.nz

Notes to editors:

More information on the 鈥淚t鈥檚 Time鈥� Campaign here.
More information on the Government鈥檚 Women and Girls Strategy here.

Key Research insights:

• Awareness of female athletes is significantly lower than comparable male athletes which impacts the marketability of women鈥檚 sport.
• In team sports in particular, awareness of female athletes is well below that of male athletes.
• Only 1 in 3 New Zealander鈥檚 watch women鈥檚 sport regularly.
• At a total population level, close to half haven鈥檛 changed their behaviours towards women鈥檚 sport in the last five years 鈥� i.e. attending live sport, watching live sport, following on media or social media or talking about it with family and friends.
• 53% of New Zealanders believe they won鈥檛 change their behaviour in regards to how they engage with women鈥檚 sport over the next 12 months. 
• The biggest barrier to watching women鈥檚 sport is not knowing enough about events, teams or athletes.