Special Edition with Brenda Elsey

The 2023 Women’s World Cup has been widely acclaimed for being the best ever—this is in no small part due to the extraordinary performance of the women playing for Spain. While the award ceremony was marred by the sexist behavior of their president, fans of the game around the world have marveled as the players united to stand up to Luis Rubiales.

Jennifer Doyle, who has had an obsession with the question of Spain’s underperformance over many years prior to this tournament, calls in sports historian Brenda Elsey to talk about the importance of this moment and what it means for the international game.