Laura McGoldrick hosting 'The Women’s Game' which debuts on TV this week

One of the country’s busiest broadcasters, Laura McGoldrick, will have just returned from hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup when she heads straight into the studio to record a new show.

“The Women’s Game is a show for everyone, but we’re highlighting women in sport and the brilliance of female athletes,” McGoldrick tells Spy.

“And, we’re going to have some fun with our amazing guests as we do it.”

The show debuts on Sky Sport 1 on Wednesday at 8pm.

Her guests include some of the biggest names in Kiwi sport, including Ruby Tui, Kendra Cocksedge, Rikki Swannell and Ruahei Demant. Tui is up first.

“The thing you’ll see about them is they’re easy to talk to and lots of fun to talk with,” she says.

“Who knows, we might even sing Tutira Mai Nga Iwi on the couch.”

Laura McGoldrick will host The Women's Game. Photo / Photosport via NZ Herald

The show is being produced by Kristina Eddy, a familiar face among the Sky Sport team, who is passionate about women’s sport and all its successes.

“After seeing how many Kiwis were engaged with the Rugby World Cup last year, we saw the glaring opportunity to embrace that conversation over the domestic season,” she tells Spy. “We’re hoping it’s the beginning of many. With the Fifa Women’s World Cup on the horizon as well.”

“Any sports fan who appreciates conversations with some of our best athletes will love this show. We’re seeing it as a platform to allow conversation about the women’s game to breathe.”

“It’s casual, it’s fun, our guests will chat about relevant sporting conversation and offer an insight into their sporting journeys, on and off the field.”

Eddy says women’s sport and viewership has come a long way over the past decade.

“If you look at interest and engagement during one of the biggest global sporting events in the world - the Olympics - interest and coverage is practically 50:50, sometimes even favouring our female athletes.”

She also thinks societal opinion is slowly changing with more females consuming sport in a way where they’ll feel inclined to talk about it and more people overall are enjoying women’s sport.

“It’s a deserved change and it’s a change that will always take time as the cycle between consuming sport and investment in the women’s game grows.”

McGoldrick agrees things have definitely changed for the better.

“Plenty of hard work has been done to encourage female broadcasters, and women’s sport.”

“The creation of The Women’s Game is a testament to that, so I’m excited to see where this show will go.”

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.