World Cup fever is here!

Summer is well and truly here in France, but the Impact newsletter is turning its attention to the depths of winter in Australia and New Zealand. That’s because the 2023 World Cup begins today, with New Zealand and Norway facing off in Auckland.

Over the next month, we’ll bring you exclusive reporting from specialist journalists on the biggest news stories of the World Cup — the victories, the heartbreaks, and the backflips — as well as interviews and updates as the competition unfolds. Why? Because football is a feminist issue.

Impact is a newsletter about gender and politics, and football is nothing if not political. It mirrors the feminist issues we encounter every day, from the pay gap, to gender policing, to climate activism and racism. But the World Cup is also a demonstration of the extraordinary skills and resilience of some of the best women athletes in the world. And we are here to celebrate them.

Impact’s first World Cup newsletter will go out on Monday July 24th. Until then, get to know the 32 teams, master the schedule (why not start your Sunday with Sweden vs South Africa or party until Nigeria meets Canada on Friday night?), discover your new favourite players (like France’s Wendie Renard, Zambia’s Barbra Banda, or Brazil’s Marta), and get excited for the weeks of drama and exhilaration to come.

See you on the pitch!