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Sport

12th Jul 2019

The social media reaction to the Women’s World Cup was phenomenal

Jade Hayden

women's world cup

Were you watching?

Last week, the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup was on.

It was an exciting enough event for football fans, people who like sport, and those who are from the USA – because the team emerged victorious winning 2-0 against the Netherlands.

A massive fair play to all involved – but especially Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle, for obvious reasons.

And while the majority of people are fully aware that the Women’s World Cup has captured the hearts and minds of sports fans all across the globe, the proof is – as always – in the tweets.

Earlier this week, Twitter released some insights and data surrounding the USA Netherlands match.

This included everything that appeared in the #FIFAWWC hashtag during the game, the players that people were talking about the most, and the moments that generated the most chat among fans.

The top three most mentioned players during the final match were:

1. Megan Rapinoe

2. Rose Lavelle

3. Alex Morgan

No surprises there, really.

And the most popular moments during the final were:

1.       The final whistle: USA winning the World Cup

2.       Rose Lavelle goal in minute 69, giving USA a 2-0 lead

3.       Megan Rapinoe penalty kick goal in min 62, breaking the tie to give a 1-0 lead to USA

4.       Awards presented post-game (and follow-up conversation, especially around pay and women’s empowerment)

5.       USA team lifting the trophy and celebrating

The data also showed that there was a x5 increase in tweets including the word ‘pay’ when the chant about the wage gap started following the team’s win.

The US were also the country who tweeted about the Women’s World Cup the most, followed by Brazil, England, and then France and Spain.

20×20 is an ambitious two-year long initiative to better promote and champion women in sport.

With the tagline of “if she can’t see it, she can’t be it,” the 20×20 movement has three targets to reach by 2020:

  • 20 percent more media coverage of women in sport
  • 20 percent more female participation
  • 20 percent more attendance at women’s competitions and events

And at Maximum Media, we’re proud that Her and SportsJOE is backing the 20×20 movement as official digital media partners.