Hosting Women's Rugby World Cup matches is great for the city

The games will be the culmination of months of preparation and it has been fantastic to see excitement building across the city in anticipation of the Red Roses’ visit. 

Our fan zone opened on Thursday and has already begun welcoming supporters of the four nations playing this weekend. 

Hotel occupancy is above the levels we would usually see for this time of year and we expect an influx of supporters from Australia, Ireland and New Zealand as well as a flurry of England fans visiting our city from across the country. Many will stay overnight or for the entire weekend, spending money with local businesses and enjoying everything our amazing city has to offer. 

The economic benefits will be considerable and the response from local businesses and our tourism sector has been brilliant. The entire city has embraced our status as World Cup hosts and I know will extend a warm, friendly Brighton & Hove welcome to all our visitors.  

Make no mistake, being a host city is a huge deal. Just like when we hosted games during the UEFA Women's EURO 2022, millions of people will be watching these games.  

The broadcast numbers for this tournament so far have been astounding. 

During England’s opening victory against the United States, TV coverage in the UK alone drew a peak audience of 2.4 million viewers on BBC One and another 600,000 on iPlayer. In total 4.6 million viewers watched live coverage of the tournament’s opening weekends. 

This weekend, those eyes will fall on Brighton & Hove. As an inclusive and welcoming city with a progressive and international outlook, it’s exactly the sort of attention we want. The spotlight will be on us, seeing Brighton & Hove at its best. 

But this isn’t the only benefit.  

We’ve seen the explosion in the number of girls playing football in recent years – buoyed by the rise of Women’s Super League and the unprecedented success of the Lionesses.  

Locally, Brighton & Hove Albion have shown an almost unrivalled commitment to investing in the women’s game, while its charity, the Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation, and local grassroots clubs continue to provide more and more opportunities for young girls to take part. 

I’m certain rugby will soon see a similar boost, with girls inspired by the exploits of Sussex’s own Jess Breach – who is set to make her 50th appearance for England on Saturday – and her teammates.  

And it is an impact we know is important – and much-needed. 

Nationally, one in three girls drops out of sport during their teenage years. Here in Brighton & Hove a survey in 2023 found only 15% of secondary-school-age girls said they had done one hour of physical activity every day for the past 7 days, compared with 27% of boys. In primary schools, 22% of girls did so, compared with 34% of boys. 

There are a host of reasons behind these figures, including a lack of opportunities and feeling excluded from traditional sports environments. And that gender participation gap has very real long-term implications, from reduced mental wellbeing to increased risks of long-term health conditions. 

One thing which is clear though is that when girls feel welcome in a sporting environment, have role models and local opportunities, they can achieve amazing things.  

We’re tackling this head on by investing in local facilities and working with our schools and leisure providers to make sure when girls see their heroes performing miracles on the pitch, they aren’t facing barriers to following in their footsteps.  

Some amazing work is already being done by our local clubs. Hove Rugby Club, for example, have a thriving women and girls rugby set-up – with girls as young as five regulars at their minis sessions, an abundance of girls’ teams through the age groups, a highly competitive women’s team, and women who thought their playing days were long behind them now enjoying a recently launched walking rugby session. 

We’ll keep working with our sporting community to make sure that when girls are inspired by this tournament – and they definitely will be - the opportunities are there for them.   

The World Cup will be a success. And a record breaking one at that. We’re expecting record ticket sales. The final will almost certainly be a sell-out. And the two games here in Brighton & Hove may attract more fans than attended the entire 2017 tournament. The growth in the sport has been huge.  

This weekend we will play our part and enjoy another spell in the sporting spotlight.  

But we’re determined the tournament will also have a lasting legacy on women and girls locally. And that is something we can all celebrate, regardless of who ends up winning.  

Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council