By Haniyah Philogene/Originally published by thegrio
Whoopi Goldberg is taking on a new project. During an appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” the EGOT winner announced her leap into the sports world with the launch of the first global women’s sports channel, All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN).
“I’m launching the first global women’s sports channel called AWSN (All Women’s Sports Network). It’ll be the home for live women’s sports from around the world,” she told Fallon. “Everything from soccer, basketball, tennis, cricket, curling, you name it. If a woman is playing it, we’re showing it.”
According to its website, AWSN will be available in 65 countries and will be dedicated exclusively to women’s sports featuring some of the world’s largest sports leagues, such as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), The International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).
On a mission to increase representation while filling a gap in global broadcasting, Goldberg partnered with CommonSpirit and Jungo TV to co-found the network. Inspired by her childhood passion for sports, the entertainer says AWSN has been 16 years in the making.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to play sports. My brother could play … he played everything,” said Goldberg, explaining how she never got to play because of her gender. “So, for years, I’ve been talking to people and saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we could go around the world, start getting young athletes in high school so that we can grow with them and grow up with them?”
“I feel like that will help us show that athletics — when they’re done brilliantly — it doesn’t matter who’s doing it. We don’t really have that relationship to women’s sports,” she continued.
Having already launched in Asia, the Middle East, and on India’s JioTV, Goldberg says AWSN will launch in the U.S. this week.
