Biggest challenge is protecting the progress that we've made, not taking it for granted: Belinda Clark

Continued investment in women’s sports in the post COVID-19 period and creating inclusive environments for girls and women were the topics of discussion during the ‘100% Unity’ session - the final episode of ICC’s ‘100% Cricket’ webinar series - led by former Australia cricketer-turned-commentator Melanie Jones.



Belinda Clark, former Australia captain and Executive General Manager of Community Cricket at Cricket Australia, and Arijana Demirovic, head of FIFA’s Women’s Football Development, spoke about the challenges that lie ahead.



They discussed the infrastructure and environment needed to encourage women in sports in the immediate future, especially to ride the successes of the 2019 Women’s Football World Cup in France and 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia.



“The biggest challenge is protecting the progress that we have made and not taking it for granted that the next steps will just flow without a similar amount of effort and attention,” said Clark, while speaking about the need to continue the good work.



86,174 spectators had graced the MCG for the final of the T20 World Cup 2020, which Australia won defeating India. That was the pinnacle of the sport, post which, everything came to a standstill because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the tournament also was the most-watched in history.



“Whilst financial belts are being tightened across the world with what we are experiencing at the moment, it is easy to include inclusion as a concept, females playing sports is part of that, but it is really easy for us to go backwards,” said Clark, who is the first player across gender to score an ODI double ton.



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“I think it will be really important that we protect our investment, that we stay on the path, that we don’t become a ‘nice to have’. It is critical that it is a ‘must have’ and it is demonstrated that when you do it over a period of time, you do see the results.”



Demirovic said the COVID-19 pandemic was only one of the impediments for women’s sports. “Sustainability of the sport, especially now, facing the situation of COVID-19, somehow interrupted the momentum we had from the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019… of so many eyes on the sport, so much investment, so much interest… that we have to be wary and address it.”



“Of course this is not just in terms of the of the economic impact it had, but also what does it mean in terms of different cultures, and how we address some of the challenges we had even before COVID-19, and manage perceptions of women’s sports in some of the regions that are struggling with this.”



The host, Jones, rounded up the session by talking about the wonderful experience she had hosting the show over the six weeks of the 100% Cricket webinar series. “It has been wonderful interacting with all our webinar guests and discussing variety of topics.”



“The webinars were thought-provoking and many new ideas discussed during these sessions. It was an education for me in many ways and I am sure it would be the same for those who watched,” she added.



“As a former cricketer, it has been fascinating following the progress of women’s cricket. It’s crucial that this momentum is not only maintained in the coming times but continues to push new boundaries so that women’s cricket continues to grow across the world.”



https://open.spotify.com/episode/6piGuLzIHGu1bKKHPlbZzm