On his Times Radio show, broadcaster Adam Boulton questioned whether the FIFA Women’s World Cup was ‘serious’ after major upsets saw Germany, Canada and Brazil among the teams eliminated at the group stage
If there was ever any doubt over FIFA’s decision to increase this year’s Women’s World Cup from 24 participating teams to 32, what we witnessed in the group stages will no doubt put an abrupt end to such questions.
Over a drama-filled 15 days, we have watched some of the biggest upsets the tournament has ever seen. Favourites Germany, Canada and Brazil have been dumped early, the USA needing a goalpost to keep their hopes alive and a team backed by crowdfunding have reached the knockout stages for the first time, to name just a few.
It’s been captivating. It’s been enthralling and, for women’s football fans, it signifies one of the most exciting times in the sport’s history as the seismic gap between the top teams in the world and those towards the bottom of the rankings is evidently shrinking. Which is why the comments made by broadcaster Adam Boulton on his Times Radio show on Thursday were nothing short of ignorant.
When asking female co-presenter Kait Borsay about the World Cup and the exits of some of the world’s most elite teams, the former political editor of Sky News questioned whether it was serious or just some “random kick around”. He then asked whether the game was at a stage where it’s just “random” who wins.