Pixel FC: Helping close the visibility gap in women’s football

The Women’s football tournament last summer was the most-watched ever, with more than 365 million estimated viewers globally. In the UK alone, 17.4 million people tuned in to witness the Lionesses’ historic win against Germany.*

However, research by Google Pixel and the Women’s Sport Trust revealed that despite record-breaking broadcast audiences and media coverage for women’s football in the 2022/23 season, there are still strides to be made to help the women’s game get the visibility it deserves and give fans more of the content they love. Between April and May 2023, only 2% of print media football coverage and 6% of television football news mentions in the UK were dedicated to women’s football compared to the men's game.*

Supporting female-led coverage with Pixel FC

As the Official Mobile Phone and Earbuds Partner of The Football Association, we are committed to play a part in helping the game progress. To this end, today we launched Pixel FC, an initiative that aims to increase visibility for women’s football. Pixel FC is a collective of creators and presenters who share this mission and we’ll be equipping them with the tools, platform and investment needed to produce the coverage the game deserves.

And who are the members of Pixel FC? Alex Bailess, Abbi Summers, Mollie & Rosie Kmita and Samantha Miller — all talented presenters and creators who love the game but don’t always have the best possible access to resources to cover these games consistently.

4 ways we’re working with the FA

Along with supplying them with the latest Pixel devices, this is how we’re working with The FA to support the presenters and creators behind Pixel FC:

1. Providing pitchside access and time with players so they can produce the best content.
2. Covering travel and expenses to Australia and New Zealand to report on this summer’s tournament in all its glory.
3. Committing to achieving fair and equal pay for all Pixel FC members.
4. Continuing to work with media partners across the industry to help grow women’s football across the board and the profile of creators and presenters covering it, starting with Footballco to increase women’s football tournament visibility on GOAL, the world’s biggest football website.

And our ambition for Pixel FC does not end with the summer tournament; it’s a long term commitment with more names joining the roster soon.

*All stats are sourced from WST Report ‘The Gender Parity of UK Football Coverage 2022-23 Season’.