UP303 Moya Dodd, Football Pioneer

Moya Dodd has been one of the most influential women in international football for the past two decades. In 2013 she was one of the first women in 108 years to be appointed to the FIFA executive committee, the governing body's key decision making group. The former international player and lawyer led reform for gender equality including greater inclusion in the decision-making process and for there to be a larger investment in the women's game. FIFA passed her proposal and added a requirement that every continent must have a board seat filled by a woman. But after four years of rigorous campaigning, Dodd controversially lost her place on the FIFA Council to another candidate, who couldn't answer basic questions on the women's game. So what did the experience teach her about the cultural fit between FIFA and women's football and what are the options available to take full advantage of the growing popularity of domestic leagues? But we start by talking about FIFA's relationship with Saudi Arabia, and the recent story that this year's Women's World Cup was to be sponsored by Visit Saudi. We reference a piece written by Dodd in the Sydney Morning Herald, which is available to read here. Unofficial Partner is the leading podcast for the business of sport. A mix of entertaining and thought provoking conversations with a who's who of the global industry. To join our community of listeners, sign up to the weekly UP Newsletter and follow us on Twitter and TikTok at @UnofficialPartnerWe publish two podcasts each week, on Tuesday and Friday. These are deep conversations with smart people from inside and outside sport. Our entire back catalogue of 500 sports business conversations are available free of charge here. Each pod is available by searching for ‘Unofficial Partner’ on Apple, Spotify and every podcast app. If you’re interested in collaborating with Unofficial Partner to create one-off podcasts or series and live events, you can reach us via the website.