The widely circulated video posted by LSU Gymnastics on Instagram features Olivia Dunne, answering every question flawlessly during the game's opening and final rounds

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Football fans are counting down the days until the Women's World Cup. The tournament takes place in July and will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. And if the Euro 2022 is anything to go by, it looks like it will be the sporting event that will dominate the summer. Indeed, it is the biggest women's football tournament since England won the Euro 2022 last year, beating Germany in the final. And it follows the last World Cup in 2019, which was won by the United States in France. But while these events are household names, sports fans have not always been as interested in women's football as they are now. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The statistics speak for themselves. According to FIFA, a combined 1.12 billion viewers tuned into official broadcast coverage of the 2019 world cup across all platforms. The average number of viewers doubled that of the previous tournament. And the 2022 Women's Euro was watched by 365 million globally, European football governing body UEFA said. This was double the amount of the previous tournament in 2017. Aside from viewers, sponsorships for women’s sports increased by 20 per cent in 2022; showing brands are keen to support it. So how did we get here? Not by accident. The Football Association (FA) launched a strategy to boost people's enjoyment of the sport. Speaking about the strategy in a statement, Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA's Director of Women’s Football, said: “When we launched our Women’s and Girls’ strategy, Inspiring Positive Change, in October 2020 eight months into a global pandemic, we could not have foreseen the incredible two years that lay ahead. While things in the world have changed, we have remained constant in our belief that football has the power to change lives for the better and improve opportunities for girls and women across society." Success became just as important as strategy. With England's Lioness team winning the Euro 2022, this boosted the profile of women's football, making it ever more popular. And with more popularity came more funding, which in turn raised the awareness of women's football. The cycle continues. “The power of women's football was evident on 31 July 2022, a day that will live long in the memory for us all. One goal in the strategy was to 'win a major tournament’ but none of us could have imagined the impact of victory in a home tournament," Campbell added. "When the Lionesses lifted the UEFA Women’s EURO trophy at Wembley Stadium in front of 87,000 fans, it was a moment of great joy, but it was also a moment of great opportunity. The reaction to the success and the way it transcended society has given us an unprecedented chance to change the future of the women’s game forever. It has turbo charged our strategy with demand growing right cross the game. We have seen more girls stepping forward to play, more fans filling our stadiums and new commercial partners all wanting to be part of this great movement for change." Meanwhile in an article, sports scientist Dr Julia West also pointed to the increased exposure of women's football to people through the media as boosting women's football. She wrote: "Free match-streaming and online channels have also helped raise the profile of the women’s game. Watching accessible matches brings players and teams into your home regularly and creates a fan bond. Players become household names. Even those who don’t watch or support football will know the names of a few more players than they think." She added: "The success of women’s national teams across different sports also helps springboard the achievements of the Lionesses into our news reports more regularly. Possibly the worst regular coverage occurs in the printed media, with the exception of our Euros 2022 championship title reporting. The constant stream of posts, opinions and results keeps the game and its developments in current memory. This is vital for the future and success of competitive teams and leagues as it provides a platform for further investment." It is clear the popularity of women's football is on the rise, then. Long may it continue. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Irish playwright Conor McPherson is to adapt the Hunger Games novel for a West End stage show.

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 21, 2023--

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred threw his support behind a new stadium for the Royals on Wednesday

Former President Donald Trump has quietly added a new criminal defense attorney to his legal team as he faces a potential indictment in the federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Kai Havertz climbed off the bench to fire Arsenal to the top of the Premier League with a late winner to sink Brentford 1-0. Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool at lunchtime left the door open for the Gunners to hit the summit for the first time since May 2. They did not look like doing so for 89 minutes against a stubborn Brentford side, and at times were grateful the hosts did not punish some rudimentary errors from goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. But 10 minutes after coming off the bench, Havertz struck at the far post to convert Bukayo Saka’s cross and lift Arsenal back to the top for the first time since last season’s title bid fizzled out. Ramsdale was back in the spotlight on his first Premier League appearance since September 3 with David Raya, now seemingly the club’s undisputed number one, still on loan from Brentford and ineligible to face his parent club. The England keeper made a nervous start with a shanked clearance into touch, and, with his every move mocked by the Bees fans, then proceeded to almost gift Brentford an early goal. Having exchanged passes with Gabriel from a goal kick, Ramsdale suddenly developed a bout of the yips, hesitating with his clearance and allowing Yoane Wissa to pinch the ball away. Luckily for Ramsdale, Declan Rice had already spotted the danger and got back to clear Bryan Mbeumo’s shot off the line, before Wissa put the rebound wide. But Ramsdale hid his face under his shirt following another embarrassing error before half-time, somehow letting the ball slip out of his hand. Instead of throwing it up-field he ended up looking like a fast bowler delivering a bouncer which went straight to Bees midfielder Frank Onyeka. The danger was quickly cleared, however. The Gunners were faring little better at the other end with striker Gabriel Jesus, making his first Premier League appearance in a month, heading into the side-netting and blazing a shot over. They did get the ball in the net just before half-time thanks to more inauspicious goalkeeping, this time from Mark Flekken, who palmed a Jesus header into the air, allowing Leandro Trossard to bundle it home, but VAR ruled the Belgian was offside. Mikel Arteta, who launched his recent VAR rant after his side were beaten by a goal scored from a very similar position by Newcastle, looked on impassively from the touchline. Brentford had chances after the break, with Mbeumo firing off target, Yehor Yarmoliuk shooting straight at Ramsdale and substitute Neal Maupay prodding wide from close range. But the Gunners won it when Saka swung in a cross from the right and Havertz ghosted in at the far post to plant his header past Flekken and send them back to the top of the pile. Read More Jannik Sinner stuns Novak Djokovic to send Italy through to Davis Cup final We have to be better – Brendan Rodgers says Celtic’s penalty record must improve Mauricio Pochettino angry as ‘soft’ Chelsea fall apart at Newcastle Brighton boss explains ‘big, big celebration’ and says no disrespect was meant Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola full of praise for two-goal Marcus Tavernier Joe Root joins England captain Ben Stokes in skipping next Indian Premier League

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Super Sale Alert: Get 20% off sitewide at Duvin with our promo code DUVINxR29, now through June 18.

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