成人论坛

Professor Laura McAllister talks to Peter Jackson as she prepares to take her seat among the ruling elite of European football. She raised hackles some years ago when she predicted that Wales鈥檚 involvement in the European football championships would mean more to the nation鈥檚 reputation, profile and image than if Wales won the Rugby World Cup. She says she鈥檚 been proved right. An international football captain and an academic, her views on the treatment of women in sport could hardly be more relevant. She鈥檚 had to fight all the way for what she believes to be right. And that includes the right to wear whatever headgear she chose during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar after the notorious rainbow bucket hat incident as part of the battle for LGBTQ rights. Her experience with Uefa, at the World Cup where she represented Wales as an sporting ambassador and her work with British sports agencies has convinced her that what she calls 鈥渟ports diplomacy鈥� has a pivotal role in representing Wales on an international stage.