BBC women's footballer of the Year

Absolutely. I've spent a lifetime criticising people who don't want to pay the licence fee 'on principle'.🙄But nowadays, the BBC is much harder to back. both senior management, and much of the 'talent' (that word!) have bought wholesale into gender woo, and used their influence to shape reporting on news stories, and programme content.

Me - here it is.
*Thank you for contacting us about the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2024 which was awarded to Barbra Banda.

Barbra Banda has been a key figure in women’s football, representing Zambia at two Olympic Games, competing in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and playing professionally for Orlando Pride in the United States, making her fully eligible for nomination. Her achievements over the past year were assessed by an expert independent panel of current and former professionals, coaches, and journalists, who created a shortlist of five players based on their performances. The final winner was chosen through a global public vote. It is important to note that the same process has been used for all 10 years that the Women’s Footballer of the Year has been running.

We acknowledge that questions have been raised about eligibility. In our profile of Banda, we reported on the events of 2022 when she was initially selected to represent Zambia at the African Cup of Nations but then later was not included. What exactly happened is contested and there are conflicting reports. We reported about this at the time on the BBC and did so again here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3e8d344vndo.

Eligibility to participate in women’s football is the responsibility of FIFA and the football authorities. In the light of this case in 2022 FIFA said it was carrying out a review of its gender eligibility policy but as we reported this week, there has been no sign of progress with that review and FIFA did not reply to our attempts to find out what was happening.

We understand that topics like this can spark strong feelings. Thank you again for sharing your views. Your feedback is important, and it will be shared with the relevant producers.

Kind regards,

BBC Complaints Team
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints*

So in summary, the BEEB knows that there’s something ‘off’ with the player they've selected as Woman’s footballer of the Year, but chose to ignore all the questions and give it to what they think might turn out to be a bloke all along. Fucking joke!

I wonder when the BBC will realise just how many of its core audience (middle aged women) that it has alienated. I find it so sad (like the Guardian in fact) that the institution that I looked up to actually doesn’t value me (as a woman) at all. Just like a lot of left wing men I have unfortunately also found out.

When the conservatives get back in power, as they inevitably will, and start running down the BBC and talking about operating it on a commercial basis, will the BBC realise too late that they have lost the loyalty of that core audience. I have been pro licence all my life but I am beginning to think that the BBC doesn’t deserve me as a viewer and a licence payer if it can’t recognise & acknowledge who I am, along with all other actual women.

Anyone else had a response to a complaint from the BBC along the lines of 'it wasn't me wot did it, blame Fifa?'

Pathetic.

Some guy in the comments (Times article) is looking up other commentator's names online and is posting stuff he finds about them (or people of the same name), two messages got deleted so far. And this is why I don't comment in the Times anymore, I'm the only person of this name in the UK.

Emma Hayes is no friend of women. FFS I can't believe the lack of intelligence and critical thinking.

Not surprised at that from Emma Hayes, I'm afraid.
Football is just mental.

What hope is there!!

Emma Hayes, womens football manager now in America

https://www.thetimes.com/article/a3fb536f-5363-4c55-985c-1697315bc974?shareToken=43b11fe2a4be40f28c775c5bdf106d1f

They won't bother if there's no money to be made from it

But don't all the players get the same test?

Well, yes, there's definitely more awareness and public opinion, judging by comments, are usually very much gc.

And yet it keeps happening. Again and again.

How depressing

1. This has nothing remotely to do with transgender.
2. We've always been proven right, its never been us that has ever been proven bigots or fools.
3. Strange how your misogynistic lot twist fair sports for females into 'banning intersex people from participation in all sports'. You could win an Olympic medal for the desperate stretching and reaching you disingenuously did there, @Bobbymoore123 .

A question for the "we can always tell" folks, do you want to ban intersex people from participation in all sports?

They are not banned - if they are male with DSD they have a category to partake in. One which gets considerably more support than women's sports do.

Ignoring the provocation (and irony) of bigotry and foolishness, here's some food for thought....

This sensitively written article helps explain the DSD "5-ARD", known colloquially as "guevedoces" in one part of the world because, although rare, it's common enough to have been given this name.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34290981

The article makes it very clear that this condition only impacts boys and that they are misidentified as females at birth as a result of it.

Now let's imagine a scenario where a whole bunch of people (let's call them Mumsnetters) have taken the time to learn about this DSD, about the biological sequence of development that starts with the bimodal gonads which develop into either testes or ovaries.. except in the case of another DSD where the process breaks at this early point. But back to 5-ARD: the development pathway breaks at the point where the external genetalia should have matched the internal plumbing at birth. But they didn't. So these children only enter that pathway at puberty. At puberty, everything happens as close to "normal" as anyone would expect i.e. a penis emerges, often (but not always) the testicles descend into a scrotum and most importantly for sport, every benefit of male puberty on performance is established.

Obviously it must be a horrendous emotional journey for these poor boys who grew up thinking they were girls until their voices broke and they started to grow male-pattern sex characteristics.

But should they then carry on into women's sport?

Now let's imagine a scenario where anyone who tries to call out how unfair and unsafe this is in football or boxing (or running, from a fairness perspective) is called a fascist bigot. And anyone championing the ludicrous idea that it's OK gets to position themselves as Kind... even when using terms like "intersex". It's impossible to be "between sexes".

Anyone who suffers from a DSD deserves the dignity of recognising their actual sex. Every DSD is sex-specific. There is no such thing as intersex. Yes, they deserve this dignity but they do not deserve entry into events/competitions or awards that are supposed to be for the opposite sex. Bollocks to that, as it were.

Edited for typos.

"Accusing CAF who fought against apartheid and who have been hugely expanding women's football across Africa of being racist and sexist is clearly nonsense. There has been a lot of opposition to allowing women to play sport in Africa. CAF has made huge strides."

Hey, maybe the European and North American women's football teams should apply for a license to play in the CAF league(s), if their own associations are going backwards.

Totally. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I bet there's no TRA in history that's ever won a poker game

Bobbymoore123

Barbra Banda has one more testis than Bobby Moore did.

Transvestigators out in force today! Dw, I'm sure this is one of the cases that doesn't end up making you look like bigots and fools.

A question for the "we can always tell" folks, do you want to ban intersex people from participation in all sports?

lol, showing that you understand full well that this person is male with a DSD.

Just men from the women's.

And you might want to note that intersex is considered an outdated, offensive term.

A timely intervention from our friend the Straw Man.

Transvestigators out in force today! Dw, I'm sure this is one of the cases that doesn't end up making you look like bigots and fools.

A question for the "we can always tell" folks, do you want to ban intersex people from participation in all sports?

@borntobequiet that's reassuring!

I'd rather like to watch the latest Wolf Hall but no fucking way is the bloody Beeb getting a penny off me.

It’s very lavish but rather unsatisfying, doesn’t have the narrative drive of the earlier production (but that’s true of the book as well).
I find the blind casting problematic too.

I didn't renew mine last time around.

I'd rather like to watch the latest Wolf Hall but no fucking way is the bloody Beeb getting a penny off me.

So monumentally sick of this shit.

I think that’s a key point.

The BBC were very explicit in pointing out they had no involvement in the decision of the panel to shortlist BB, and that the winner was picked by a public vote.

IIRC correctly the “expert panel” included players and coaches, no idea who though.

It feels as if the BBC knew it would kick off and wanted to make the point “not our fault, guv”.