Sports Highlights From International Women’s Day
The NWSL, WNBA, and students in England all had a pretty memorable day.
We love celebrating women’s sports every day, but it is extra special to see leagues like the NWSL and WNBA thriving on International Women’s Day. Here’s a look at some of the biggest sports stories from March 8.
The Lionesses Legacy Lives On
When the Lionesses won the European Championship at Wembley this past summer, English fans went crazy. After all, it was the country’s first major soccer championship in over 50 years. But the players on the team decided to use their platform to leave a legacy that was bigger than the trophy they won. They wrote a letter to government officials requesting equal access to soccer and extracurricular activities at schools across the United Kingdom.
On International Women’s Day, the government announced a $600 million fund to create equal sport opportunities for girls with a minimum of two hours of physical education per week. Now, thousands of young athletes across the country will have the chance to try playing soccer in school. Who knows? Ten years from now we might just find out that the next great Lioness fell in love with soccer thanks to the actions of the 2022 English women’s soccer team.
WNBA Sells Out Game in Toronto and Announces its Broadcast Schedule for 2023
March 8 was a pretty big day for the WNBA. First, tickets for the first-ever WNBA game in Canada went on sale, and within hours, the game sold out. If the league is considering expanding across the border, the high demand for May’s game is a pretty good indication that fans are willing to show up to support women’s basketball. For fans who are disappointed that they missed out on tickets, the WNBA has announced that there might be more tickets released closer to the day of the game (May 13).
Next, the WNBA announced that there will be a new ‘WNBA Countdown’ pregame show on ESPN before games aired on the network during the 2023 season, and that the WNBA All-Star Game will be aired on ABC during Primetime for the first time in league history. Fans can access the full broadcast schedule for the 2023 WNBA season on the WNBA website.
NWSL Announces Deal With TSN to Air Games in Canada
The NWSL put the “international” in International Women’s Day when they announced that TSN had acquired the rights to broadcast games in Canada during the 2023 season, including the 2023 NWSL Championship.
The NWSL features many of Canada’s standouts, including: Angel City FC’s Vanessa Gilles; Chicago Red Stars’ Bianca St-Georges; New York/New Jersey Gotham FC’s Victoria Pickett; Houston Dash’s Allysha Chapman, Devon Kerr, Nichelle Prince, and Sophie Schmidt; Kansas City Current’s Desiree Scott; OL Reign’s Jordyn Huitema and Quinn; Orlando Pride’s Jordyn Listro; Portland Thorns’ Christine Sinclair and Janine Beckie; San Diego Wave FC’s Kailen Sheridan; and Washington Spirit’s Gabrielle Carle.
The network’s full broadcast schedule will be announced next week.
March is one of the best months of the year for women’s sports with March Madness, the Isobel Cup, the Frozen Four, EuroLeague playoffs, NCAA Softball, and the NWSL kicking off, so fans can expect plenty of more exciting storylines throughout the next couple of weeks. Don’t forget to follow She Plays on Instagram and Twitter for daily women’s sports updates!
