Dunja Antunovic, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and affiliated scholar with the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, published a chapter titled, “Beyond the World Cup: Women’s Football in Central-Eastern Europe” in an edited collection of 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Media, Fandom, and Soccer’s Biggest Stage.

The chapter shifts the analytical focus away from the most frequently examined contexts (e.g., the United States, the United Kingdom, France) to a region where national teams did not qualify for the 2019 World Cup. The chapter overviews the growth and barriers in the development of women’s soccer in Central-Eastern Europe and analyzes how television networks in select countries covered the tournament. The study found that the announcers provided knowledgeable commentary about women’s soccer, but the broadcast availability of the tournament depended on the schedule of other sporting events with national interest.