Football’s new goal
livemint.comSometimes, it takes a special effort to make a point, and the women’s football World Cup has seen one. An advertisement by French telecom firm Orange shows the country’s men’s team players making some magical moves and scoring spectacular goals that would make fans of the game anywhere go delirious. Only, it’s revealed soon enough that it isn’t really men playing.
The video was modified digitally to replace the women who actually performed those feats, just to show how there is no difference in the quality of football played. This ad clip has gone viral on social media, stirring up interest across the beautiful game’s fandom in the women’s tournament that’s going on. Thursday’s World Cup match, in which Nigeria stunned co-host Australia, exemplifies the point.
The African team, which won 3-2, put on a splendid display of skill, grit and passion. The home crowd was left disappointed. Nigeria’s victory deserves to be celebrated.
Like the French ad, it will help generate bigger audiences for women’s football. A gender imbalance has long existed in both viewership and earnings that should be given a red-card send-off. Let market forces push out unfair play.
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