DLA Piper’s Women in Sport initiative made herstory by hosting Millie Bright, England and Chelsea defender, for its first in person event on Thursday 1 December. The Q&A with Millie focused on the exciting future of women’s football and women’s sport in general. She touched on her awe inspiring journey from wanting to be a horse rider to signing her first professional contract in 2014 with Chelsea, and winning Euro 2022.

Millie attributed her success to the supportive system around her and commented that winning Euro 2022 could not have been done without having trust and belief in her team. She advised that we should continue to build on what has been done, in that more sponsors, like Barclays investment into the Women’s Super League, should continue to leverage on the success of Euro 2022 and other events. She noted how women in sport are using their influence on social media to create change, which is attracting more sponsorship deals and media attention. Another example of this change is recognised in how young girls and boys look up to Millie (and other sportswomen).

Further evidence of the forward steps made in women’s sport can be seen in the FIFA World Cup last week, with an all-female refereeing trio being led by Stephanie Frappart in the Costa Rica and Germany game and an all-female pundit panel on ITV in the Saudi Arabia and Poland game.

DLA Piper’s Women in Sport initiative headed up by Claire Sng and Christina Sharma aims to provide an opportunity to elevate and debate issues relating to women’s sport, to provide a platform for women who work in the sports industry and to bring together like-minded individuals interested in joining the conversation. With equality, diversity and inclusion being key boardroom issues, the promotion of women’s sport and women working in sport is high on the agenda within the firm and for many of our clients – not just those in the sports industry, but those across all sectors with stakeholders who have an interest in sports e.g. brands that are rightsholders, technology providers to major events, the media industry and more.

We have some exciting events and opportunities on the horizon so if you are interested in joining our initiative then please feel free to reach out to Claire Sng or Christina Sharma. We also have a Women in Sport blog and vlog series on our MSE Today blog which can be accessed here.