'It's not about hitting new milestones as a female' Joy Neville on making history

Published: Oct. 10, 2020, 10:17 a.m.

“I don’t see it as trying to hit new milestones as a female” – Joy Neville on making history. The Irish referee will become the first woman to take on Television Match Official duties in a men's international game when Wales face Georgia next month. Neville tells us how she initially needed some convincing to become a referee, how other people’s doubts over whether a woman could make it as a top official have driven her on and she explains her approach to being a TMO. Maryam Shojaei joins us one year on from three and a half thousand women attending Iran’s men’s World Cup qualifier against Cambodia in Tehran. Apart from a few exceptions, women had effectively been banned from stadiums where men were playing since just after the 1979 Islamic revolution. Shojaei ran a campaign -- first anonymously and later publicly -- that led to Iran allowing women to attend men's football matches. She gives us her memories of the day and tells us about her hopes for the future. To celebrate Black History Month we speak to a pioneer of the American Football scene in Great Britain. Gerry Anderson played between 1984 and 2000 for clubs including the London Monarchs and London Olympians. He reflects on a career that saw him win the Eurobowl . He also tells us about the cultural differences he encountered when American players came to play in the UK – including the revelation he was asked if there would be black people in London. Anderson tells us their question was based on the fact that the Royal Family were the only English people they had ever seen on television. The third edition of the Hindukush Mountain Bike Challenge took place in Afghanistan earlier this month. The two-day event aims to grow the Afghan domestic racing scene and empower young boys and girls. Shikeba Aryan finished third in the women's race and says she hopes her success encourages other young girls in Afghanistan to take up cycling, having overcome resistance from her own family when she started out. In Sporting Witness we tell the story of an Ivory Coast football team which is credited with revolutionising the sport in Africa. We hear from Kolo Toure, who was one of the players on the team and later a star in the English Premier League. And – we’re live in Paris with our tennis correspondent – Russell Fuller – ahead of the women’s singles final at the French Open. Photo: Joy Neville (Getty Images)