WOMEN'S SOCCER - Team USA Win

"Will Team USA’s win help level the playing field for women?" PBS NewsHour 7/6/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  The U.S. women’s soccer team made a record-breaking victory against reigning champion Japan in the final game of the 2015 World Cup.  Judy Woodruff speaks to Deborah Slaner Larkin of the Women’s Sports Foundation, and Cheryl Cooky of Purdue University about the win, and whether it will help to promote equality for women in sports.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  The U.S. women’s soccer team set itself apart last night with a historic achievement.

What does this win mean for the future of women’s professional soccer in the U.S.?

We turn to Cheryl Cooky, a professor of women’s studies at Purdue University, who has published studies on the differences between the way men’s and women’s sports are seen.  And Deborah Slaner Larkin is the CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation, which works toward safe and equitable sports opportunities for girls and women.

And we welcome you both.

Deborah Larkin, to you first.  How big a deal is this women’s World Cup?

DEBORAH SLANER LARKIN, CEO, Women’s Sports Foundation:  Well, it’s a huge deal.

This really started from 1999, when we won the second World Cup, and the next generation of girls who looked up to those stars are playing today, so it’s not only those athletes, but it’s the next generation of girls and boys in all sports who want to play.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Cheryl Cooky, how do you see the significance of it?

CHERYL COOKY, Purdue University:  I think of this as a tremendous moment, not only for the U.S. women’s soccer team, but for all those fans out there, all the aspiring young girls and boys who want to be athletes.  I think this is a tremendous moment for them.

I think it’s a tremendous moment for our culture as well, that we can all join together and celebrate the tremendous accomplishments and prowess in female athleticism that we saw displayed last night.

SPORTS - Match-Fixing in Run-Up to the World Cup

"Reports of corruption cast shadow over World Cup" PBS NewsHour 6/6/2014

Excerpt

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  Hundreds of millions of people around the globe will be watching fervently next week when the World Cup (soccer), the world’s most popular sporting event, kicks off in Brazil.

But a series of reports and investigations are casting a cloud over the sport and its international governing body, FIFA.

Jeff is back with that story.

JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour):  One investigative series, published in The New York Times, found a match-fixing syndicate was able to manipulate several contests in the run-up to the previous World Cup in 2010.  The stories included tales of apparent bribery that led to clearly suspicious calls by referees in an effort to exploit matches for betting purposes.

Separately, The Sunday Times, a British newspaper, published new documents showing corruption and payments behind Qatar’s successful bid to host the Cup in 2022.

Declan Hill is an investigative journalist who co-wrote The New York Times series.  He joins us now.

So these games that were fixed in the run-up to the last World Cup, tell us briefly what happened.