Football

Women’s World Cup: Laura Woods and Gabby Logan announced as lead pundits

July 10, 2023 1:11 pm
Women’s World Cup: Laura Woods and Gabby Logan announced as lead pundits
Photo by IconSport

With the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand around the corner, both BBC and ITV have announced their punditry teams ahead of kick-off.

Gabby the face for BBC

BBC have announced Gabby Logan will be their main host, who will be joined by Sky Sports pundit Alex Scott as well as BBC’s very own Reshmin Chowdry.

Not only will these three be presenting, but nine others will join them throughout the tournament, including former England players Ellen White and Steph Houghton.

Former England forward Ellen White made over 100 appearances in an England shirt, scoring 52 goals. Steph Houghton has also made over 100 appearances for the Lionesses, as well as over 100 games in a Manchester City shirt – both internationals are likely to be a huge hit throughout the tournament.

The BBC have chosen not to have any males sit on the couch throughout the tournament for expert analysis, which has caused some controversy amongst those on social media.

ITV led by Laura Woods

ITV have also chosen to be represented predominately by female pundits, of which the Sky Sports presenter Laura Woods has been elected as the main host.

Having recently moved away from her position with TalkSport, the 36-year-old who also works for Amazon Prime Video, will be part of a brand new looking team ahead of the women’s World Cup.

 

Joining her will be Eni Aluko, who was part of the men’s Qatar World Cup punditry team in November and December , Jill Scott, England’s second-most capped player and Karen Carney, who had 144 caps of her own for the Lionesses, will also be part of the team.

Another popular pundit joining the new look is Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, who was named as the best FIFA Football Coach back in 2021.

Lucy Ward, Siobhan Chamberlain, Emma Byrne, Vicky Losada, Jen Beattie and Fran Kirby complete the stellar line up as ITV have made sure they have experienced female experts covering their live matches.

No men, no problem?

After both the BBC and ITV announced their punditry team ahead of the women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, plenty across social media voiced their opinions that a more equal split would have been fair.

The year 2022 was a huge year for women working within football, with more female presenters than ever before gracing our screens and the women’s World Cup has provided them with an opportunity to keep on growing those statistics.

Both companies have opted to make statements with their line-ups, and although there has been plenty of criticism, it’s refreshing to see the organisations continue to show that 2022 wasn’t a one off and women can continue to thrive in what was previously a male orientated role.

The launch of the “Her Game Too” campaign has helped women’s voices to be heard and with plenty of ex-Lionesses on the couches over the coming weeks, its safe to say we’re witnessing history down under.

Keen to read more Women’s World Cup content? Click here for more on Punditfeed.

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