A new era? How the European ESPN covered the 2019 Women's World Cup online

This study is a content analysis of Eurosport's football coverage on its French, English, German and Spanish websites during the 2019 Women's World Cup. It examines the place given to women's football by leading sports news websites in Europe and explores cultural differences across those four countries while limiting corporate differences (as all four websites belong to the same company). Analysis found the women's game represented up to 20% of coverage on two websites, much more than the usual 5% or less usually dedicated to women's sports, but the tournament still took a back seat to offseason men's club football. The production value also showed some sex differences with Eurosport's staff resources seemingly more directed toward coverage of the men's game - despite the Women's World Cup being the only Europe-based senior tournament played by European nations during the study. Differences in coverage among the four countries studied suggest Spain is embracing women's football more than its neighbours, and the vast colonial histories of France, Spain and the UK, and the international relations they shaped, are profoundly affecting the sex gap in football coverage.