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As you can expect, the results were both illuminating and predictably damning in the case of those still posting outdated, sexist and just plain ignorant views.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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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:
Manchester Storm have already set a new record before they’ve even returned ‘home’
Danny Jones
Manchester Storm have already broken a record ahead of next season, and they’ve done it before they’ve even made it back to their original stadium.
Just goes to show that the ice hockey following here in Greater Manchester hasn’t gone anywhere.
Following the news that Manchester Storm will be returning to the city centre for the 2026/27 campaign, they’ve had a flood of interest from both new and old fans.
With that in mind, it didn’t take long for the native team to reveal that they have already set a new record for season ticket sales just a few weeks on from the announcement.
Sharing an update on social media, they write: “Manchester Storm supporters have delivered incredible demand for 2026/27 Season Tickets, with the club recording its highest-ever sales within the first week and the strongest total in its modern history.
“Thank you, Manchester, for your amazing support.”
Crediting ticketing partner StubHero for helping deliver “a smooth experience during this period of exceptional demand” for followers of the local outfit, they’re even set to give away the next milestone season ticket away completely FREE as part of the ‘homecoming’ celebrations.
Writing further in an official statement, they went on to add: “The move back to the AO Arena represents far more than just a change of venue or a return home…
“It marks the beginning of an ambitious new chapter for the club, built around bigger crowds, bigger occasions, and an unforgettable gameday experience in one of the UK’s premier entertainment venues.
Speaking in an interview with internal media, CEO and owner Emma Finnerty said that they’re not just aiming to grow their reputation in Britain: “Our vision is to become the biggest club in Europe.
“When you think of Manchester, you think of Manchester United and Manchester City – and then hopefully we’ll come third after them.”
While the former ‘Storm Shelter’ stadium at Planet Ice Altrincham only held a maximum of 2,500 spectators, serving them more than faithfully over the past decade or so, the AO Arena can literally hold almost ten times that amount. Here’s hoping they get close to full week in and week out.
As hockey fandom continues to grow across the UK, it feels like a better time than ever for supporters to get involved with the sport – and, as ever, they’re keen to get people as involved as possible.
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Publicity pictures (via Manchester Storm)
Sport
Manchester United and Lionesses star Ella Toone is now officially an MBE
Danny Jones
Man United Women and Lionesses star Ella Toone is now officially an MBE after collecting the award this week.
The Greater Mancunian has grown to become one of the most influential female players of the modern era, and now her impact has been immortalised by the monarchy.
Being recognised for services to the discipline on Tuesday, 19 May, the local athlete finally collected her accolade at Windsor Castle.
Presented to her by Prince William, the Tyldesley-born attacker said in a statement: “It’s been amazing. It’s a bit of a pinch-me moment to be here and be honoured with an MBE.
“I never thought when I started out playing football I’d now be called Ella Toone MBE, so it’s a bit crazy.”
Having suffered a tough time out with injury, the 26-year-old also insists she is now back feeling “better and stronger than ever.”
With Sarina Wiegman’s official squad selection for the qualifiers ahead of FIFA’s 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil, she’s also looking forward to reuniting with her England teammates.
Here she is talking to Sky ahead of the games, not long after receiving the award:
"I've missed it so much, can't wait to be back with the girls" 🏴
Ella Toone is looking forward to meeting up with her England teammates next month for World Cup qualifiers against Spain and Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/K02nJbSkE0
Speaking back in December, she confessed that it’s all been “a bit mad” for her ever since she learned of the news, but her worthiness speaks for itself.
Winning not only back-to-back Euros titles with the national side, along with the first-ever UEFA Women’s Finalissima trophy in 2023, but also inspiring young kids dreaming of becoming footballers across the country and beyond.
Congratulations once again, ‘Tooney’ – beyond well-deserved.
Across the city, it’s great to see yet more groundbreaking investment in the women’s game being made for generations to come.
Danny Jones -
15th September 2023 
