Jane Patterson, COO for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in NZ, talks to Ashley Stanley in part three of LockerRoom’s video series, The Big Four, with the women leading the four global sporting events here over the next two years - three World Cups and the IWG Women and Sport conference.
Jane Patterson wants this era of sporting history in New Zealand to be remembered as one that shifted attitudes around women’s sport.
“I look back at the London 2012 Olympics, and that propelled Paralympic sport in a way that it changed attitudes and perceptions of those persons with a disability,” says Patterson, Chief Operating Officer for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, to be co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.
“I would love to look back and say that in this era, alongside the rugby, cricket [World Cups in New Zealand] and the IWG, that was an era that really shifted the needle in terms of women’s coverage of sport and the way that women are involved and represented.”
Tasked with delivering this massive football event on this side of the Tasman, Patterson has a monumental part to play and by this time year, she'll have a team of around 100 to assist her. Co-hosting the third largest sporting event in the world presents its challenges but Patterson has been involved in global events before. With a background in PR and marketing, she's worked with the All Blacks, the America’s Cup, the International Cricket Council, and the world netball championships and Ironman.
In episode three of our series, The Big Four, Patterson shares how she’ll work with Australia and the Oceania Football Confederation to make this event something all New Zealanders will be proud of.
You can watch part two with Michelle Hooper, 2022 Rugby World Cup tournament director here, and the first video with Andrea Nelson, CEO of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2022, here.
Next Friday: Rachel Froggatt, CEO of Women in Sport Aotearoa and Secretary-General of the International Working Group (IWG) on Women and Sport Secretariat & Conference 2018-2022.
