‘It is just as it should be but gosh, it has taken a long time’: Hazel Irvine on seeing women win equality in football broadcasting

It has been 35 years since Hazel Irvine first appeared on our screens as part of the Scotsport presenting team on Sunday afternoons.

In 1987, a female broadcaster on a football programme was a rarity. Today it hardly raises an eyebrow.

“There’s a cliche, if you see it, you can be it, and it was as simple as that for me,” she said. “When I started out, it was really only Sally McNair who was visible and she made it possible. She was the first to sit in a studio as a woman in a football show.

“The fact that Sally was visible to me made it perfectly achievable in my book. In the same way, I’m sure there were other people who looked at what I was doing, and what Alison Walker and various others around the country were doing.

“Now it is not something that is talked about as an issue in broadcasting terms; the same way as the participation and profile of women’s football is not being talked about in the same way.

“It’s taken a long time. Gosh, I did Scotsport in 1987, so it’s a long time in the making. In the early days it used to be something I was asked about a lot – the woman in a man’s world thing – but now it’s just a case of you’re there and you get on with the job, really.”

The success of the Women’s Euros in the summer, won by England, was a big step forward Irvine was delighted to see.

“One of the first events in women’s football I worked on was the 1995 World Cup in Sweden, so to have witnessed all of these huge advances in popularity, profile and uptake in the game from a grassroots level and the professional opportunities now has been mind-blowing,” she said.

“For the England team to have carried everyone in the country with them and their enthusiasm, and the pure joy when they all danced on the tables at the press conference, everyone was so chuffed for them.

“All of the history lessons we had about women not being allowed to play and use the pitches; that whole story being retold was very important and now they were sitting as equals at the World Cup as pundits. It’s fantastic and the way it should be.”

The inspirationals: Some of Scotland’s ground-breaking women choose their Women of the Year

Irvine has long since expanded her broadcasting expertise beyond football, becoming an authoritative voice on everything from snooker, golf and skiing, to athletics, the Boat Race and the London Marathon.

She is looking back at the best of sport over the past 12 months in a Radio Scotland show, Hazel Irvine’s 2022 Round-Up.

“We have quite the cast list – Eilish McColgan, Eve Muirhead, Chris Hoy, Gregor Townsend and Stephen Hendry. It’s a bit of fun, but it also has a nice celebratory feel to it as we’re reliving great moments, and we also have a reflection on Doddie Weir.

“I’m a bit biased – some of the events we focus on are things I was involved in, so the Winter Olympics was a big favourite for me. Eve’s gold was a huge highlight, especially the semi-final against Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg, the defending champion.

“When they went four down, we thought it was all over. To turn it around in the most unbelievably topsy-turvy match, it felt like the big breakthrough in terms of her confidence.

“It brought back memories from 20 years earlier when I was in Salt Lake City as Rhona Martin won gold in the curling. I still have the lucky jumper I wore on air in 2002 and I always take it to support the curling team at the Winter Olympics. I hope it helped! I was more or less sitting on it when I was presenting all the curling matches this year, because we were presenting from a studio rather than in situ, so it was too warm to wear.

“Having quenched that 20-year thirst for gold, having been there to see Rhona do it, was really meaningful for me and I felt really proud at the time, not least because I remember Eve being the youngest skip ever at Vancouver, and the lessons she had to learn, then the bronze medal, then the disappointment. Four Games on and she wouldn’t quit. I felt that was testament to her sheer guts and determination.”

Irvine will enjoy a quiet Christmas and New Year with her family before turning her attention to the first big snooker tournament of the year, the Masters, which begins on January 8. It’s one of many events she is looking forward to in 2023.

“The Masters is always brilliant, because there is only one table in place and every session feels like a final. It’s a big year in snooker, as Ronnie O’Sullivan has the chance to surpass the great Stephen Hendry at the World Championships, with both currently having seven Crucible crowns each.

“Something else I’m looking forward to, but don’t expect to be working at, is the Cycling World Championships, taking place in Glasgow and all around Scotland in August. It’s the first time they’ve held all of the cycling disciplines at the Championships at the same time and in the same country.

“Regardless of where you live in Scotland, there will be a chance to watch elite athletes perform on roads and tracks. It is going to be a massive breakthrough.”

Hazel Irvine’s 2022 Round-Up, Radio Scotland, Hogmanay, 8am