After selling out in under an hour, UEFA Together #WePlayStrong’s online event featured line-up of Europe’s top female sport stars
As FC Barcelona made history as the first Spanish team to win the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Sunday 16 May, UEFA Together #WePlayStrong hosted a first-of-its-kind digital event, uniting fans, players and prominent female athletes in celebration of the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) final.
Due to fans being unable to attend the final at Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg, Sweden, UEFA together with PixelMax created the online space to bring together super fans from across Europe to show their support for the women’s game and inspire a new generation of female footballers.
The free sold-out virtual meet up welcomed 1,000 lucky ticket holders, treating them to an exclusive preview of the new UWCL anthem, engaging live interview broadcasts, surprise appearances and a completely gamified environment featuring a virtual stadium, competitions and interactive content.
Hosted by Dutch street football legend Rocky Hehakaija, UEFA’s pan-European women’s football podcast, ‘The Football Podcast’ kicked off the event with a special live UWCL episode. The show welcomed Bayern Munich’s Sarah Zadrazil, who shared several exciting stories from her career including scoring her first European goal with Bayern during the UWCL semi-final against Chelsea. Wolfsburg and UWCL winner Shanice van de Sanden and teammate Lena Oberdorf also joined the conversation, discussing their UWCL experiences as well as the new 2021/2022 UWCL format.
Shanice van de Sanden, who won the UWCL in 2019 with Lyon after defeating Barcelona 4-1, said: “I spoke a lot with Lieke Martens in the lead up to this game and she told me how the Barcelona team learned a lot from that final. It was their first time reaching that stage of the competition, and you need to have that experience. They worked on those learning and you can see how much they want to win it now. Barcelona have always been good – but now they are almost perfect.
“The increased coverage and new format of the UWCL is so important for the growth of the women’s game. Having more games on TV and online is what we need and it’s what we have missed. The game is not just improving on the pitch, but also off the pitch and that’s great to see.”
Lena Oberdorf added: “This was my first UWCL experience where I played in the starting 11, and these are definitely the games where you can get better and better as a player. When you’re playing against these top teams, that’s when you have to prove that you’re good enough to be there. There are so many emotions you experience from playing these games, and I can’t wait until next season.”
During a live episode of the exclusive ‘In Conversation with…’ series, some of the biggest names in women’s sports were brought together for the first time to discuss some of the biggest topics affecting the women’s sporting landscape. The one-on-one interviews paired top female athletes engaging in in-depth conversations about their lived experience as women in sports.
Olympic athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson spoke with Manchester City’s Alex Greenwood about their shared experience growing up in Liverpool and how that impacted their love of football. World Champion motorcyclist Ana Carrasco and AC Milan’s Veronica Boquete discussed the challenges of being a woman in a male dominated sport and how they use their voice for change. The last conversation between Atletico Madrid’s Toni Duggan and Real Madrid’s Kosovare Asllani focused on their similar backgrounds of playing in both England and Spain, as well as how they envision the women’s game growing.
Vero Boquete, who won the UWCL in 2015 with FFC Frankfurt, said: “The new UWCL format and increased media coverage of women’s football is huge. When we’re on the TV, on the radio or in the newspapers, it’s opening up possibilities that we didn’t have for so many years, and now we are seeing the fans getting engaged and watching the games. Everyone is watching UWCL games now and the Women’s EUROs next year will be even bigger and another step forward – it’s just incredible for all of us.”
Toni Duggan, who played with FC Barcelona in the 2019 UWCL final, said: “I think the main football attribute in Spain is their technique and they are so good in possession, and in England it’s definitely more physical. I’ve played in the Women’s Super League and Liga and they are two absolutely amazing leagues and are up there with the best in the world.
“The talent and investment that we are seeing from some of these clubs is brilliant. When I was in the final two years ago playing with Barcelona, the club knew that was just the start for them. This year in the final we’ve seen such a different Barcelona side.”
During a takeover of the UEFA Women’s Champions League Instagram channel, UK presenters Rosie and Mollie Kmita were joined by former UEFA Women’s Champions League winner Jess Fishlock to breakdown all the in-game action during the half-time analysis.
Throughout the event, #WePlayStrong ambassadors Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema, Lisa Evans and Beth Mead, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Laura Feiersinger, FC Köln’s Eunice Beckmann and Bella Linden, as well as World Champion Freestyler Liv Cooke took part in live Q&A sessions with their fans.
Launched in May 2019, UEFA’s Time for Action women’s football strategy aims to support, guide and lift women’s football and women in football by 2024. The UEFA Women’s Champions League final plays a critical part of UEFA Together #WePlayStrong’s overarching aim to change the perceptions of women’s football and make the sport feel cool and relatable to young girls in the hope of encouraging them to continue or consider playing in the future.
To join the conversation, follow @weplaystrong on Instagram or @WePlayStrong_ on Twitter.
Courtesy of UEFA via Frame
