Adele Willie is a female sports commentator from Vanuatu.[1][2] She is among a group of the first female sports commentators from the Pacific Islands.[1] Willie provides commentary on soccer[1] in Bislama, her native language.[3][4] She is one of the first commentators from the Pacific Islands to cover the Women’s World Cup.[5]
Early life
editWillie did not get to play soccer as a child, as in Vanuatu it is played mostly by boys.[2]
Career
editWillie was a sports journalist for the Vanuatu Daily Post[6][7] and Buzz FM 96.[7] Her work proved challenging, as she found men did not want to talk to female journalists.[6]
Willie, along with Jannesa Hinge Moli, who is from Vanuatu, and Lavenia Yalovi, who is from Fiji, trained for 8 months through an organization called WINS (Women in News and Sports) to get the opportunity to speak about soccer.[3] Willie and Hinge Moli talked in Bislama, and Yalovi talked in Fijian[8] and English.[9]
They provided commentary for the 2019 Women's World Cup,[9] and were the first female commentators to go to the Women’s World Cup from the Pacific Islands.[1][5][10] They were invited by FIFA[2][4][11] as part of FIFA Women’s World Cup Pacific Commentary Project.[4]
In 2023, Willie left the Vanuatu Daily Post and Buzz FM 96 to be a senior sports reporter for the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Rosman, Rebecca (June 19, 2019). "'Commentary for Good' brings underrepresented languages to the Women's World Cup". The World.
- ^ a b c "BBC World Service - Sportshour, 'I am so proud that we are the first female commentators in our country'". BBC. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ a b Australia: The pacific road to the women's world cup. (2019, May 31). Asia News Monitor Retrieved from ProQuest
- ^ a b c HANNEY, DANIEL (2019-05-30). "A Pacific Lingo". Beyond 90. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ a b "Pacific women get historic opportunity". Oceania Football Confederation. 2018-11-14. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
- ^ a b "Vanuatu Women Sports Journalist". Loop Vanuatu. Archived from the original on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ a b c Natoga, Anasilini (2023-06-24). "Buzz FM and Daily Post farewell sports journalist Willie". Vanuatu Daily Post. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
- ^ 3 PACIFIC WOMEN ALL SET TO BOARD PLANE FOR WOMEN'S WORLD CUP IN FRANCE. (2019, May 28). Gov Australia Live (Australia). Available from NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current
- ^ a b Bradfort, Brendan (2019-06-18). "The female commentators bringing their native language to the world stage". Inside Fifa. Retrieved 2024-11-11.
- ^ "As the Fijian football team steps closer to the Women's World Cup in France, a special group of women in media are also achieving their sporting dreams". ABC International Development. 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
- ^ "Vanuatu sports journalists to commentate in FIFA Women's World Cup". Sista Magazine. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2023-02-16.