Ex-pros turned pundits Jill Scott and Gary Neville have teamed up with Heineken to highlight sexism and gender bias when it comes to punditry, football and sport in general in a brilliant new advertising initiative.
The Dutch beer brand enlisted the help of the former Manchester United and Manchester City stars to highlight the prevailing and still disappointingly casual culture of sexism and the archaic belief that ‘football is man’s game’, coming up with an ingenious idea to expose those who maintain that prejudice.
Focusing on women’s football and how female players as well as pundits are still treated online, in particular, Heineken simply asked the United legend to swap phones with the recently retired Lioness and City midfielder, with Gary Neville posing as Jill Scott on social media and vice versa.
As you can expect, the results were both illuminating and predictably damning in the case of those still posting outdated, sexist and just plain ignorant views.
Secrets out! Last season, @Heineken asked me to swap socials with @GNev2 to show gender bias on social media. It was fun for me but I think less so for Gary 😂. This season, let’s give sexism the red card, and let’s keep football opinions about football!⚽ #fresherfootballpic.twitter.com/vvKTU0Of5W
Entitled the ‘Social Swap’, the clever new ad is part of an important initiative by the brand to crack down on gender bias in football and sport, in general, expanding on their ‘Fresher Football’ campaign established in May last year.
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Having taken control of each others’ accounts for a select few Champions League games last season — Heineken being UEFA’s official alcohol partner — the two live-tweeted the games as many pundits regularly do and then simply sat back to watch the usual keyboard-warrior chaos unfold.
Pulling out all the entry-level sexism stops you could imagine, ‘Jill Scott’s’ (Gary Neville’s) tweets received all the usual ‘yer da’ responses: “Get back in the kitchen babe”, “You should probably concentrate on the girls’ league”, “Seems like your brain’s gone missing [nice spelling]. Best leave the football to the boys the luv.” and so on.
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In contrast, when people were replying to tweets from what they thought was Neville’s account, Scott’s match analysis received responses like, “The most objective opinion I’ve seen from you”.
Probably the best part about all of this is that we don’t even know exactly which tweets or just how many were actually posted by Neville/Scott during these games or by their punditry imposter.
And that’s exactly the point. So good.
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With the Lionesses still reigning European champions and having gone so close at the World Cup, not to mention the WSL becoming more and more popular by the day, you’d like to think that these antiquated corners of the internet would have gone quiet by now, but plenty of people still have a lot to learn.
In fact, this advert wasn’t even the first time such commonplace sexism in football and on social media, specifically, was exposed in such a satisfying manner this year. We’re sure plenty of you will have seen this incredible advert from a few months ago and, if you haven’t, you’re welcome:
Dame Sarah Storey is going on Strictly Come Dancing 2026
Danny Jones
Record-breaking local athlete and Paralympian, Dame Sarah Storey, is set to become the latest to join the Strictly Come Dancing annals.
With the Strictly cast for 2026 steadily being unveiled, we always keep an eye out for the Greater Manchester names in particular.
That being said, we’re buzzing to see the hugely successful Stockport swimmer turned cyclist will be swapping her Team GB kit for sparkly, sequined ballroom gowns and an entirely different type of sport and fitness.
Announced on Friday, 17 July, Storey is the seventh celebrity to be confirmed for the 24th series of the hit BBC show and dancing competition.
Having represented her country not only at nine Paralympics but across two different disciplines after switching to the racing bike back in 2005, she’s our most decorated competitor in the entire history of the Games with 30 medals to her name – 19 of which are gold.
Absolute GOAT levels.
But now the Cheadle Hulme-born is once again set to show her versatility to see how she fares on the dance floor later this year.
Commenting ahead of the new-look season which starts this September, the 48-year-old said: “Embarking on a new challenge so soon after stepping down as an athlete is hugely exciting.
“I have always loved watching Strictly, and my daughter Louisa is a very talented dancer, so to be able to learn from the best and hopefully understand even more about her world is incredibly motivating! I can’t wait to get started!”
This latest sea-change comes not long after the local legend and sporting icon officially announced her retirement from professional sport more than three decades on from first bursting onto the scene.
Thank you for taking the time to leave all the incredible messages. It’s so wonderful to read them and thank you for being the greatest supporters 🥰
— Dame Sarah Storey (@DameSarahStorey) July 9, 2026
What a career she’s had; it obviously didn’t take her long to get tired of sitting still for once, either.
She will be joined by the likes of Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer and Will Best.
In case you missed it, the upcoming edition of Strictly Come Dancing will be the first since Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman stepped down, with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and pro dancer Johannes Radebe stepping in as replacements.
In other starring Stockport news, we’ve finally got more info on the final season of a popular programme filmed in the area. Find out more down below.
Oasis’ Wonderwall on the brink of becoming UK number one for first time ever 30 years after initial release
Emily Sergeant
Could Wonderwall FINALLY become UK number one for the first time ever?
England may no longer be in the running to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup after being knocked out in the Semi Finals by Argentina, who claimed a 2-1 win when the two teams faced off in Atlanta on Wednesday night (15 July), but it looks like that hasn’t harmed Wonderwall’s trajectory to the top of the Official UK Charts.
Oasis’ most-streamed song of all time – and arguably their most famous – is currently sitting right at the top of Spotify’s Global charts, meaning it is in the race to become the official UK number one later today.
Despite the fact it never reached number one when it was first released back in 1996 as part of the band’s second studio album, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, the song has always had such cultural significance here in Manchester.
But after being adopted by the fans of the England men’s national football team during this World Cup, and belted out after every Three Lions victory this tournament, the song has taken on a whole new life.
Wonderwall was described at the time by the band’s lead guitarist and songwriter, Noel Gallagher, as being about ‘an imaginary friend who’s gonna come and save you from yourself’ – with the song’s title inspired by George Harrison’s solo album Wonderwall Music.
Sure, it has nothing to do with football (but neither did Sweet Caroline, let’s be real), but it’s an absolute anthem and one that’s become a symbol this year for the belief that football may have just been coming home after 60 years.
Win or lose, Wonderwall remains.
Unfortunately, while Wonderwall is in pole position as it stands, it’s up against some fierce footballing competition with the likes of Baddiel, Skinner & Lightning Seeds’ enduring anthem, Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home), hot on its heals.
Standing between both of them – and chart glory – is, of course, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s record-breaking duet, Rein Me In, which looks to retain the top spot as it eyes a 17th non-consecutive week at the summit.
It’s also expected that The Beatles’ iconic 1968 hit, Hey Jude, will also find its way into the Top 40 in honour of the tournament’s star player Jude Bellingham.
So, will Wonderwall reign supreme then? Will the Gallagher brothers have another reason to celebrate tonight after the success of last year’s historic Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour? We’ll have to wait and see.
You can tune into the Official Chart Show on BBC Radio 1 from 4pm today.
Danny Jones -
15th September 2023 
