2019-07-01_HelloMagazine_UK

G ON BRITAIN’S WOMEN

SENTER SHINES A SPOTLIGHT

R FEMALE SPORT STARS

changed.Forsixmillionpeopletotuneintothatmatch

showstherewasalreadyanappetite.Thattrajectorywill

continue.It’sgreatsport.

“We’vebeenpushingthegameoverthewhole

summersohopefullythemessageis gettingthrough.

Thefootballersarestartingtopushthroughintermsof

brandrelationshipsandadvertisingandtheyhave

becomepersonalities,soyouknowthembetter.

“Weknewtherewasa hugeappetiteforit – 40,000

peoplecametowatchthewomen’sFACupFinalat

Wembley– andwearen’tputtingit onthetelevisionout

ofsomekindofduty.It’sonbecauseit’sentertaining.

GOAL-DENOPPORTUNITY

“IimaginetheEnglandteamareallenjoyingit,”she

adds.“They’realltop-classathletesandthisis whatthey

haveworkedtheirwholelivesfor.They’reprofessionals,

focusedonthephysicalsideofthings,andhopefully

theycanenjoytheoccasion– theirfamiliesarehere.

“Butreally,they’reheretogetthemselvesasfaras

theycaninthecompetition.A lotofgoodteamswill

pushthem,butthey’llbedisappointednottogoone

betterthanthesemi-finalatthe 2015 WorldCupin

Canada.They’rea teamthatthinkstheycangoallthe

wayandwebelievetheycandoit.Butit’sfootball;

anythingcanhappen.

“WelaunchedChangetheGameatthestartofMay

andit cutsacrossa wholeloadoffemalesportall

summer.Hopefully,bytheendoftheyear,it willhave

madea bigimpactandpeoplewillbea lotmoreaufait

withourtopfemalesportsstars,andtherewon’tbeany

moreneedforbrandedcampaigns.Itwillbepart

of the fabric of our sporting landscape. We

canjustweavetheseeventsinbecausetheyare

top-classsport.”

putting this on TV out of

of duty. It’s great sport’

their opening clash against Scotland at the Allianz

from top left): Millie Bright, Jill Scott, Karen Bardsley,

eenwood, Ellen White, Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead, Fran

ndKeira Walsh. The Lionesses went on to win 2-1

GabbyLoganis partof theBBC’sWomen’sWorldCup team. Follow

theWorldCupliveontheBBCacrossTV,radioandonline.

REPORT: LAURA BENJAMIN

PHOTOS: AVALON. DAVID VENNI/CHILLI MEDIA. GETTY IMAGES

H

I

t’sbeendubbedthesummer

offemale sport,beginning

withthe nationgettingsolidly

behindourtwoteamsatthe Fifa

Women’s WorldCupinfootball.

When6. 1 millionviewerstune

intoseethe ancientrivalryof

Englandv Scotlandplayedout

by 22 female footballers,

it’s clearwomen’s sportis

on theup.

Thecoverageispartof

the BBC’s Change the

Gameinitiative,whichwill

seethe NetballWorld

Cupandthe Women’s

Ashes,whenEngland’s

cricketers take on

greatrival Australia,

broadcast on the

channelbetweennow

andtheendofJuly.

AndBBCsports

presenterGabby

Logan,whoisin

Francetocoverthe

WorldCup,saysthetime

is rightforfemalestarstotake

theirplaceinthespotlight.

“TheBBCis coveringevery

match,” shetellshello!. “Sofar

we havehadsomegreatgamesandsome

reallytalented,brilliantfootballon show.

“InNice forEngland versus Scotland,the

atmosphereinthestadiumwasgreatandtherewasa

mixoffamiliesandgenderbalance– thereweremore

meninattendancethanat women’sfootballintheUK.

“I’vecoveredtenmajorfootballchampionships–

mainly men’s, some women’s – and I feel it has already

Englandlineupaheadof

RivierainNice(clockwise

StephHoughton,AlexGre

Kirby, Nikita Parrisan

BBCsports

presenterGabby

isin Francefor

theWorldCup.

“It’sonbecause

it’s entertaining,”

shesays

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