GiveMeSport, a digital sports publisher, last week announced that Benny Bonsu will join their UK team as its first Head of Women’s Sport.
Under Bonsu’s lead, GMS will build a dedicated women’s sports editorial brand to meet the growing appetite from fans who demand greater exposure and coverage of sportswomen and female athletes.
Despite the surging number of players, audiences, investment and wider interest, women’s sports coverage remains deeply underserved across the media, says GiveMeSport. 40% of all athletes are women, yet only 7% of the UK media’s sports coverage is dedicated to women.
A broadcaster and journalist, Bonsu has previously worked for the NBA, BBC’s World Service, Matchroom Sport and produced multiple TV programming across Africa, alongside writing for TRUE Africa magazine covering African athletes in the Premier League, NBA and NFL.
GiveMeSport Women will go live in mid-April to cover the SSE Women’s FA Cup, ahead of an exciting summer of women’s sport including the FIFA Women’s World Cup in June and the Netball World Cup in July. GiveMeSport Women will feature editorial articles on past, present and future athletes, original video and social content, photo essays, podcasts and episodic series, covering real women in sport. GiveMeSport Women content will be fully integrated into the main GMS site, alongside new, standalone social channels, says the company.
Benny Bonsu, Head of Women’s Sport, said: “We want GiveMeSport Women to become the home of women’s sports coverage globally. This will be a platform where we champion female athletes and inspire women and girls who want to be like their heroes through content that is original, honest and unapologetically bold.”
Additionally, Bonsu will work alongside GMS’s Head of Editorial, Patrick Surlis, to grow the GMS Academy and provide opportunities for aspiring female sports journalism students. Launched in 2016, the GMS Academy – which works with students at universities including Brighton University and Southampton Solent University – provides a pathway for journalism students to become a staff writer at GMS, with a number of the current GMS editorial team having progressed through the programme. Bonsu will focus her efforts on broadening the Academy’s scope to provide more points of entry for both female graduates and BAME students.
Rick Waterlow, Managing Director added: “We’re delighted to bring such a prodigious and ambitious talent as Benny into the GMS team. Producing and surfacing brilliant stories across the breadth of global sports is what we strive to do on a daily basis. Under Benny’s stewardship, GMS will be deepening its long-term commitment to offering the best coverage across all sports regardless of gender, for fans everywhere.”
