Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 37
37
Rejected
Increasing women’s participation in sport depends not only on opportunities to play, but also on...
Conclusion
Increasing women’s participation in sport depends not only on opportunities to play, but also on visibility and representation. Evidence shows that when women’s sport is regularly broadcast, especially on free‑to‑air TV, girls are more likely to feel inspired and motivated to be active. A dedicated broadcast slot for women’s football would provide consistent coverage, grow audiences and challenge persistent gender stereotypes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 121)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government explains that intervening to mandate a dedicated broadcast slot through Article 48 is technically problematic and would not benefit women's football, noting that an independent review did not recommend this approach, effectively rejecting the implied action.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government · verbatim extract
Rejected
The mechanism of the Article 48 statute is commonly misunderstood to be a UEFA article that is imposed on member federations. In fact, the Article is an opt-in statute, which domestic football National Governing Bodies are able to opt out of in consultation with domestic leagues. The UEFA statute and its relevance to women’s football can also be challenged by National Governing Bodies without Government intervention. The Government could choose to request that the FA disapply the statute in full, but all this would do is open that broadcast window to all football —including international football—which would simply further crowd the broadcast schedule without any benefit to the women’s game. Due to these technical limitations of Article 48, Karen Carney’s Independent Review of Women’s Football did not recommend that the removal of Article 48 in football is the answer to the scheduling challenges women’s football faces.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗