From the success of the women's football World Cup, the Netball World Cup, the Ashes, and the Solhein Cup, it's clear that 2023 was a groundbreaking year for women’s sport. Attendance, viewership, ratings—you name it—grew exponentially. And, encouragingly, it doesn’t feel like this momentum is going to wane; it certainly feels like there’s growing excitement about what's yet to come.

It is as though 2023 has painted a yellow brick road to what I think (and sincerely hope!) will be increased numbers of both girls actively participating in and following sports and boys engaging with and supporting women's sports. However, this won’t come without its challenges.

Despite their successes, skills, and talents, the prejudices women face in their day-to-day lives only seem to be exacerbated by the fame being a successful sports star brings. So much so that Fran Kirby, a highly decorated female player in English football, has had to bring attention to the body shaming that she and other female athletes experience. We are also seeing persistent efforts to undermine significant successes. Piers Morgan has questioned the merit of England and Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps winning Sports Personality of the Year, while Joey Barton has likened female commentators to notorious criminals Fred and Rosemary West.

So how and why am I still feeling so optimistic?

Well, our extensive research into Generation Alpha (those born since 2010), has highlighted that this new generation of fans and future generations of players don’t share the same misogynistic views as older generations. They actively challenge gender biases and are not afraid to point out inappropriate biases from adults, including sexism.

Brands, businesses, and organisations are getting on board with the movement too and in doing so are helping to keep this momentum going. Brands such as EA Sports FC 24 have read the room well from this perspective - integrating players from both men’s and women’s football into their iconic game, encouraging interaction and integration with all players regardless of gender in a way that has never been possible before. Orange France’s advert that premiered ahead of the Women’s World Cup last year subverted gender expectations by showing that the women’s sport is just as exciting as the mens is another example of this - the ad went viral - and was hailed as one of the best sports ads ever. Dove used its coveted prime time ad slot during this year’s Super Bowl to shine a light on the statistic that 45% of girls quit sports by age 14 because of low body confidence - a powerful move by the brand looking to raise awareness and encourage sports coaches to support girls on their teams, build confidence and keep them in the game.

Iconic stadiums such as Wembley and Camp Nou are also playing their part - enabling increased access to the game by hosting sell-out women’s matches, with a far bigger proportion of kids in attendance than at men’s games.

This is all leading to us at Beano Brain seeing and hearing an increasing number of boys and girls mentioning a far more diverse range of sporting idols than ever before, with icons such as Mary Earps, Megan Rapinoe, and Sam Kerr being spoken about in the same breath as Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo & Vinicius Junior. And I don’t see this trend going anywhere. This year, thanks largely to the Paris Olympics, there will be ample opportunities for more female athletes to build out their audiences, and inspire a new generation of fans. Sky Brown will be competing in both skateboarding & surfing for Team GB (her 2nd Games, at age 16!) and for Team USA peerless Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, is planning to compete once again.

You can see why then I’m hopeful that the progress that was made in 2023 to reshape the landscape of sports and therefore sports role models by breaking down barriers and fostering inclusivity will be maintained and furthered in 2024. This year will be a pivotal year, but with collective efforts of fans, brands, organisations and athletes, the stage is set for a brighter and more equitable future in the world of sports.