麻豆约拍

Stand-up comedian Maisie Adam presents her stand-up special where she discusses her love of football and her experience of the women鈥檚 game ahead of the Women's World Cup 2023.

For Maisie, football has always been there, even when all the signs have been screaming that this wasn鈥檛 a sport for her. At school, where the girls curriculum neglected football in favour of the skirt-adorning Hockey and Netball. In the park, where boys wouldn鈥檛 pass to girls 鈥渂ecause they鈥檒l lose the ball鈥�. And in adult life, where the local sports centre advertises Men's 5-a-side, and women's Yoga.

But it鈥檚 a game where all you need is players and a ball. That鈥檚 it. Well, we have women. We have footballs. Time to pass the ball, lads.

This week, Maisie reflects on football infrastructure in the UK and why it felt like you had to move to the USA, Bend It Like Beckham style, if you wanted to pursue football professionally as a woman. She's joined by the leading global scholar of women's football, Professor Jean Williams, to help her find out why this was the case for well over a hundred years.

Written by and starring Maisie Adam

Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Co-ordinators: Caroline Barlow and Dan Marchini
Sound editor: David Thomas
Photo credit: Matt Crockett

A 麻豆约拍 Studios Production for Radio 4.

This programme was first broadcast in June 2023.