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ONE-ON-ONE
Tom had brought on Abby in an advisory role to help COPA90 get more into women’s football. It had always been a digital-first football media company, telling stories and celebrating football culture from a very fan-centric point of view. It didn’t have any rights, but it started a football channel that focused on the fans and their stories. XTREME: What exactly did you like about COPA90? BEX SMITH: COPA90 was really celebratory. It was very much about diversity and inclusion. About how
are still really good parts of it, and I wish they would double down on those great parts. I hope they do the right thing and actually put their money where their mouth is when it comes to women’s football. XTREME: What are the barriers to building up women’s football? BEX SMITH: One of the biggest in terms of growth and investment was a lack of it being a great brand. The story of the players wasn’t out there. All of the messaging around women’s football was that you should get involved because it’s good for girls and gender equality and so on. Which is a great thing; but the game is also about incredible athletes with phenomenal stories. And the sport itself is worth watching – tough quality, good pace, high technique and tactics. The
product was good and the players are incredible. But there was a need to get the right storytelling. My sister is a cinematographer- director in LA. She began a production company and we started doing projects with top female footballers about a year and a half ahead of the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Working with players like Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, we looked at doing a proper series with some cool content.
That’s how I met Tom Thirlwall, the CEO at COPA90. I got introduced through Abby. “THE SPORT ITSELF IS WORTH
WATCHING – TOUGH QUALITY, GOOD PACE, HIGH TECHNIQUE AND TACTICS”
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MAY/JUNE 2022 FEED:XTREME
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