Jacqui Oatley So many issues still stopping women fulfilling potential

It was a shame that this incident has overshadowed what was a momentous day for women’s football, and for Ada Hegerberg. On the flip side, the reality of women’s football and its lack of coverage is that had there not been this uproar about the twerking comment, would anybody have been aware she had won this award?

Everybody would have focused on Luka Modric, and I think that is the backdrop to the issue. There is a lack of awareness of top female athletes, and a lack of credibility and respect. That was evident from Martin Solveig’s comments.

I do not want to hang him out to dry, because he was trying to be quirky. That was what he had been booked for, presumably. I think the organisers are all jointly culpable. They will have had a script – it was not off the cuff. The plan was to ask her to do some sort of dance, in the same way they asked Kylian Mbappe. The fact that he asked her to twerk – a sexual dance – was just the most incredibly crass and ill-judged request.

It gives us a platform to highlight the lack of parity with regards to coverage. Women’s sport forms two per cent of sports coverage in newspapers. Hegerberg has been recognised as one of the world’s top players and no one knows how to pronounce her name. People do not know her because we do not see enough women’s sport on television. Sports editors need to look at their resources and find a way to get more coverage.

Hegerberg is not playing for Norway because she feels women are not treated with respect by her national federation. The Football Association of Norway should be humiliated by the fact that their player has won this award and is refusing to play for the national team. The women have won international tournaments, yet they are treated like second-class citizens.

It is time to explore the issues; find out why people were offended and work out the bigger picture of women in some countries fighting for the right to be able to play.

While I do not think Solveig should be solely vilified for this, I think this incident should be used as a way of navigating the present and the future to ensure action is taken. Let us ask if national federations are doing enough.