News UK Joins the Women in Football community – News UK

News UK is the latest organisation to join the growing line-up of Women in Football corporate members and, in doing so, display its commitment to gender equality. News UK brands including The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and talkSPORT reach millions of sports enthusiasts every month. 

SunSport leads the way on women’s football coverage with match reports, interviews and analysis of WSL matches and internationals. The Sun’s sports reporter Sandra Brobbey was the first recipient of SunSport’s Vikki Orvice Scholarship, established in 2019 in memory of the trailblazing journalist who became the first woman appointed as a football writer on a tabloid paper, joining The Sun in 1995.

The Times and The Sunday Times provide peerless football coverage led by brilliant and award-winning journalists, from Molly Hudson – who most recently spearheaded the Times coverage of the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph and their run to the 2023 World Cup final – to Alyson Rudd, who has been writing about sport for 28 years, was named SJA Sports Feature Writer of the Year in 2019 and is a qualified football coach and referee.

Meanwhile, talkSPORT reaches over 3.7m listeners each week, with a match-winning lineup of pundits and presenters including Natalie Sawyer, Reshmin Chowdhury, Faye Carruthers, Shebahn Aherne, Lianne Sanderson, Courtney Sweetman-Kirk, Tash Dowie, Lucy Ward and Katie Shanahan. Last season talkSPORT broadcast over 450 live commentaries, including Premier League, EFL, Women’s Super League and England Women’s Internationals and will cover the upcoming Women’s Euro 2025 next summer. talkSPORT continues to expand its focus on women’s football specifically – including The Women’s Football Show with Lianne Sanderson and The Kickback with sisters Shebahn & Ruesha Aherne.

Kathryn Anastasi, Deputy Head of talkSPORT, said: “We’re delighted to be joining Women in Football – a brilliant organisation with an absolute focus on developing, supporting and shining a light on talented women playing their role in every part of the game. I’m proud of the talented women on and off-air across talkSPORT, I’m excited to work with Women in Football to build on this in the months ahead.”

The Women in Football Corporate Membership programme offers a range of resources to help forward-thinking employers work towards gender equality. As part of the package, organisations select from a range of services to develop a bespoke package which suits their needs in terms of developing as a female-friendly employer.

Services available to members from WIF’s team of experts include an assessment of organisational culture and support in fostering inclusive team dynamics. Direct support to the female workforce can be provided through group coaching, mentoring, and places on the highly renowned Women in Football Leadership Course in partnership with Barclays.

Building upon an already strong relationship, News UK follows Newcastle United FC, the EFL and tms in joining the prestigious line-up of Women in Football corporate members this year. Existing members include the Premier League, Sky Sports and top-flight clubs Brentford FC, Brighton & Hove Albion FC and Manchester City FC.

Over the past few years, News UK has hosted and participated in Women in Football events, including the flagship Be Inspired Conference in partnership with Barclays. talkSPORT is part of the #GetOnside family, having pledged its support to WIF’s campaign for gender equality in football. That generous pledge saw two Women in Football members take on paid six-month internships covering the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 tournament.

In 2020 talkSPORT also offered three young people the opportunity to undergo training in journalism and radio, thanks to a fantastic fully paid apprenticeship scheme.

Yvonne Harrison, CEO at WIF said: “Women in Football is delighted that News UK have decided to join our roster of corporate members. We look forward to working across the business on projects that will empower their female employees and bring progress towards a gender-equal workplace.

“In joining our Corporate Membership programme, employers are committing to take practical measures towards inclusion. Research has shown that diverse organisations are more effective organisations, and more effective clubs are good for football.”

Look out for more announcements about new Women in Football corporate members in the coming weeks.

Find out more about Women in Football’s Corporate Membership programme