Sky Sports coverage a “breakthrough” for SWPL

Sky Sports’ Scottish Women’s Premier League coverage is a “breakthrough” for the competition, according to presenter Eilidh Barbour.

Barbour spoke to Broadcast Sport ahead of the first match of Sky’s latest deal for Scottish football, which saw women’s competitions added for the first time when it was announced in September. 

Hibernian takes on Rangers in the renamed Sky Sports Cup final on Sunday, 11 December, with it available on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Mix from 12pm.

Barbour described the moment as, “a real platform and breakthrough for Scottish women’s football,” with the broadcaster, “treating it as a men’s game or maybe even higher as it’s a Cup final.”

This includes 11 matchday cameras, including super slow motion and steady cam, in use at Tynecastle Park for the match, in addition to studio cameras. There will also be extra access, with a camera on the Hibernian team bus in the build up, as well as a Rangers player showing their team bus through Zoom.

Regular Scottish football commentator Ian Crocker will be on commentary alongside former Scotland international and Arsenal player Julie Fleeting, with Barbour noting the importance of a well-known voice calling the game: “It’s important to have the number one commentator. He’s commentated on so many important moments in the Scottish game, and its great for him to lend his voice to a big Cup final.”

Similar to the recent EFL innovation game from Sky Sports, there will also be both managers interviewed together pre-match, possible interviews during the game, at half time, and scenes from the dressing rooms - which won’t be live to allow for pre-broadcast checks.

There has also been, and will be, extensive promotion on Sky Sports News in the build up to the game, including coverage of Barbour, a former player herself, training with the Rangers side.

When it comes to how the game will be presented, Barbour will be alongside pundits Claire Emslie (current Scotland international and NWSL player), Pedro Martinez Losa (Scotland women’s manager), and Suzanne Winters (former Scotland international), with Gordon Duncan reporting from pitchside.

Barbour believes audiences will need an introduction to the competition, saying: “There is an element of educating our audience as we hope followers of the women’s game and Hibs and Rangers are at the stadium, so those at home will be seeing something new and new players.”

She added: “I don’t see it as too different to an FA Cup match in the early rounds, where people might not follow the National League normally,” and hopes new viewers will like what they see: “During the Euros, I really liked hearing people say, ‘I wouldn’t normally watch that but I really enjoyed it.’”

As for after this game, Barbour hopes the added exposure can make a big difference for the Scottish game, with the Sky Sports deal running until 2029. She said: “Partick Thistle are at a different level to when I played there, they’ve come up through the leagues, but they still have players coming off night shifts etc., so you hope development can come there.”

She hopes for, “a professional set up so clubs are on a level pegging, like it is with the WSL – where football can be a career, while keeping the league financially sustainable.”