Four years ago, sports fan Neha Kumar stumbled across an advertisement for the NRLW and realised she barely knew the women’s competition existed. So she decided to do something about it. The Fijian-Indian Australian created Watch Her Footy, a social media platform dedicated to women’s rugby league that now has around 23-thousand followers.
Listen to Australian and world news and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts.
TRANSCRIPT
26 year-old Neha Kumar has always loved sport.
But despite following rugby league, it wasn’t until around four years ago that she discovered the NRLW almost by accident.
“I saw an ad for NRLW on the TV and I was like, what is NRLW? I've never heard of that. I've never seen it before. Anyways, I did some more research and I realised that there was a whole women's rugby league competition going on and I felt like it was, I guess at that time, poorly advertised because I just, I had no clue. And it gave me an opportunity to create a page and platform like Watch Her Footy that would support the women's game and cover it in depth."
The page began by introducing fans to the players, their statistics, backgrounds and clubs.
And Neha says it didn’t take long before she realised people were paying attention.
“Honestly, in the first week of posting, I know that sounds crazy, but our first few followers were NRLW players. And at that time, I wouldn’t say I was covering it in a lot of detail, but I was highlighting player stats and trying to tell fans who these players were, where they’d come from, what they were doing and what clubs they played for. And then we were seeing an influx of NRLW players following. And I looked at my partner and I was like, “I think we’re onto something,”
They were.
Watch Her Footy has grown into a platform covering everything from players and injuries to game updates, rankings and explainers.
But Neha’s interest in visibility in sport goes back much further.
Growing up in Brisbane, football was her first love.
And as a Fijian-Indian girl playing the game, she had a very specific ambition.
“Being a Fijian Indian girl, it's kind or - I wouldn't say frowned upon so much, but it’s just not common for a young Indian girl to play soccer and then my family all came on board and really supported me through my football journey. I never really looked at it as like, Oh no, I’m the only Indian girl. It kind of encouraged me almost to want to become the first Fijian Indian Matilda. That was my goal growing up. So I think it was more like, How can I use this to my power? rather than, will I stand out and be the odd one out in my team”
Neha didn’t go on to become a Matilda.
But that experience of wanting to see a pathway into elite sport has stayed with her.
Today, she also works in professional sport with the Queensland Reds.
And she says that’s given her a much clearer picture of what’s needed to turn growing interest in women’s sport into something sustainable.
“I think prior to me starting at Reds, I was, I would say, a little bit naive in terms of I didn’t really understand the inner workings of women’s sport and what it takes to grow that. I guess now I’m more aware that it needs community, that it needs commercial support, it needs, you know, so much marketing. And I love working in rugby union as much as I do rugby league. And I’m very lucky to have support behind me at the Queensland Reds to continue that, regardless that it’s a rival code, they really get behind me too. So I’m really grateful for that.”
HANNAH: "What still needs to change in the way women athletes are represented, do you think?"
NEHA: "I think it’s commercial opportunities, just having broadcast deals that are aligned to them and what they need, eventually becoming full-time. I posted this morning that there was a discussion amongst CEOs about the broadcast deal that is happening in 2028. And I believe I’ve got the stat in the caption that over 50% were against that happening. So I guess from a fan’s perspective, it’s quite disheartening because I think a lot of us were hoping to have a full-time competition before, I guess, that next CBA deal happens. So I think, yeah, there’s small growth that needs to occur along the way. But any step is a good step in the right direction, I would say.”
For Neha though, the issue isn’t only about money or broadcast deals.
It’s also about what young girls can imagine for themselves when they can actually see women in sport being taken seriously.
HANNAH: "Neha you've said, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” What does that mean to you, both as a woman and as a Fijian Indian Australian?
NEHA: "I think when I was growing up, I wanted to be that first Fijian Indian Matilda. And I was really, really pushing towards that goal because I just loved football. And then I had a realisation, I think, that women’s football wouldn’t pay me full-time. I couldn’t make that into a proper career. I saw obviously those Matildas back then, but I just knew that they were struggling to make a career out of it and I didn’t know if it was going to be a possible pathway for me. And I think that’s what influenced me, I guess, as a young girl wanting to play sport, to create Watch Her Footy. I think there’s an opportunity for NRLW to become quite large, just like the NRL in Australia. So the more I can, I guess, showcase that on social media where young girls are growing up and seeing that, I think, yeah, it only will encourage me to keep going.”
And some of those girls are already finding the page.
Neha says messages now come from young fans well beyond Australia, many of them wanting to understand how they too could make it into the game.
“Honestly, it’s been overwhelming to see the support from young girls across so many different countries, to be honest. I didn’t realise how far and wide this page was spreading. And they just love, I guess, understanding where the game’s at, what’s progressing in terms of them as athletes and pathways. Because so many girls are wanting to develop now into becoming an NRLW player themselves, which is absolutely awesome.”
It’s a long way from the girl who once wondered whether there was a place for someone like her in professional sport.
And somewhere along the way, Neha may have become part of the visibility she was looking for herself.
HANNAH: "Do you feel like you’ve now become some of the representation you were looking for when you were younger?
NEHA: "Yeah. It’s hard to, I guess, admit or say that you are because you don’t want to sound egotistical. But if someone sees me as that, I feel like then I’ve done my job well. And I hope that someone can look at me and say, “Wow, she’s doing a great job.” And if that’s the case, then I just want to keep going.”
