20×20 AMBASSADOR, LOUISE QUINN HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF FEMALE SPORTING ROLE MODELS AND CALLS ON THE PUBLIC TO HERO THEIR HERO
‘IF SHE CAN’T SEE IT, SHE CAN’T BE IT’, the latest initiative from 20×20 calls on the public to “Hero Your Hero”
Dublin, 9th May 2019: Irish International, recently crowned Women’s Super League Champion with Arsenal and Three’s 20×20 Campaign Ambassador, Louise Quinn has paid tribute to the significant impact role models have had on her sporting career, citing the impact of her own role models [INSERT LOUISE’S ROLE MODELS]. Quinn is asking everyone to highlight the people who inspired or facilitated them to start playing, training or practicing using the hashtag #CantSeeCantBe.
Quinn was in Dublin to show her support for the second phase of 20×20, a national initiative for women in sport, which seeks to highlight the impact of ‘seeing’ and ‘being’ role models, and the essential part they play in getting women and girls into sport. By asking the public to Hero Your Hero on social media, 20×20 will showcase the importance of “seeing” female athletes and inspire everyone to “be” a role model in encouraging women & girls to get involved in sport.
Three, one of the five official sponsors of 20×20 (and a supporter of the Women’s National Football Team), ‘showed its stripes’ today by announcing a once in a lifetime opportunity for girls in Ireland to play in the Aviva Stadium and be coached by Irish Internationals and Arsenal team mates Quinn and Katie McCabe. The winning players will be invited to bring their own role models to the match.
20×20, presented by the Federation of Irish Sport and conceptualized by Along Came A Spider, have today also released their second film in the 20×20 series that depicts the potential we all hold to be a role model for girls in sport and what a big impact this can have. The short film is the second of five to be released, each will cover a different theme impacting women in sport, and can be viewed at www.20×20.ie or across the campaign social channels, @20x20_ie on Twitter and @20×20.ie on Instagram.
Speaking today, Louise Quinn said, “I wouldn’t be playing football if it wasn’t for my Dad. He knew how to grow my love of sport. When the opportunity to be involved both with Ireland and professional football looked like a reality, knowing that the likes of Sonia O’Sullivan and Katie Taylor having achieved so much on the world stage made me think why couldn’t I too? Having people who believe in you and others who have already paved the way really does make a huge difference. I was lucky to have people in my life to encourage me, and others to inspire me, and we need to make sure this becomes not a matter of luck but a reality for all girls.”
Sarah Colgan, MD Along Came A Spider and Co-Founder 20×20 “20×20 has already mobilised a large part of the Irish public. We were blown away by the response to our first #ShowYourStripes call to action on International Women’s Day and we are not slowing down anytime soon. We want to continue to build on the momentum generated by the campaign to date to ensure we achieve our three goals; to increase participation in, attendance at and coverage of women’s sport in Ireland by 20% by 2020.”
Mary O’Connor, CEO Federation of Irish Sport “The importance of visibility cannot be overstated when it comes to the future of sport in Ireland. If women and girls don’t see themselves reflected in sport, they may not realise their potential and recognise their talent which is part of the reason there’s a high rate of girls dropping out of sport in their early teens. 20×20 creating Ireland’s first ever women’s sporting calendar leads us into an exciting summer of sport with the Women’s World Cup, Olympic Qualifiers for the Irish Hockey Team, a packed GAA championship, not to mention rowing and athletics summer series events.”
Gavin McAllister, Sponsorship Manager at Three said “Three are delighted to be involved in the 20×20 campaign and the momentum it has generated to date. It is clear that increasing participation, attendance at and media coverage of women’s sport is something that resonates with the Irish public. As of yet, the Irish Women’s Senior Team don’t yet play their games at the Aviva Stadium so we are delighted, as part of our support for 20×20, to be able to give 30 girls not just an opportunity to play football at the Aviva but to do so under the stewardship of two of Ireland’s best footballers, Katie McCabe and our 20×20 Ambassador, Louise Quinn.”
Watch the latest chapter video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DAr0bZQkaA