Alasdair Hooper hosts the third episode of The Women's Football Diary with former Wolfsburg, PSG and FC Rosengard forward Ella Masar.

Masar is currently on one of the biggest journeys of her life right now as she currently gets to grips with being a mum for the very first time alongside her partner, Real Madrid defender Babett Peter.

Their son was born earlier in September and, just as with any new parents, it is sure to be challenge particularly with the small matter of a global pandemic still going on in the background.

But Masar has already experienced massive challenges in her life – from struggling to accept her own sexuality by the age of 25 to the difficulties presented in her teenage years where money was tight, and her mum was battling with bipolar disorder.

But throughout it all Masar has always held on during the tough times for that light at the end of the tunnel.

In this podcast we spoke a matter of days before the US international was due to give birth and it’s clear just how much the 34-year-old has learnt from her incredible life experiences already.

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Image credit: With thanks to Doyenne Sport

Music: Dan Henig

Alasdair Hooper hosts the second episode of The Women's Football Diary with Reading and former Chelsea defender Deanna Cooper.

In the podcast, Cooper reflects on her journey in football from being a 'nobody' in football to becoming the surprise package of the WSL Spring Series for Chelsea.

But after that high came a devastating ACL injury which ruled her out for a majority of the following season - and it proved difficult to break back into the Blues' starting XI.

Now with her new side, Cooper has grown a lot as a player and person as Reading aim to push to new heights with a wealth of impressive signings.

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Image credit: With thanks to Deanna Cooper and Reading

Music: Dan Henig

Alasdair Hooper hosts the first episode of The Women's Football Diary with Wales' record goalscorer Helen Ward.

In an open conversation the Watford captain tells us about her career, including the biggest challenge of them all - motherhood.

The 34-year-old is a mum of two and also explains just how tough it was to get back to playing after becoming a mum in the first place.

Ward also tells us about life in lockdown and how the Welsh setup has changed in her time with the national team.

She also talks about Watford's aims for the season and how body image issues in women's football have gone under the radar.

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Image credit: With thanks to NA Sport

Music: Dan Henig

Extended thanks goes to NA Sport for their help in securing this interview

Will Moulton hosts this latest episode of SportSpiel with Scotland Rugby stars Rhona Lloyd and Sarah Bonar.

Alongside their exploits in rugby the duo are also known for hosting the Women Who Sport podcast, designed to raise the platform and showcase the journeys of talented women in sport.

In this episode the pair take us through their sport and what makes it truly inclusive for everyone regardless of their body size as well as touching on their own personal careers.

They also talk about the aims of Women Who Sport and what platform the podcast has given them.

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Image credit: With thanks to Rhona Lloyd and Sarah Bonar

Music: Otis McDonald

Open water swimmer Alice Dearing is often asked the same questions about being the black swimmer from Britain. According to figures from Sport England, 95% of black adults and 80% of black children in England do not swim. Meanwhile just 1% of registered competitive swimmers with Swim England identify as black or mixed race. Those numbers mean that 23-year-old Alice has essentially become the poster girl for black swimming. It’s a role she takes in her stride. She co-founded the Black Swimming Association in March this year and has teamed up with SOUL CAP, a black-owned brand that creates larger swimming caps for those with larger hair. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement too, questions about race and equality are rightly on the agenda. For Alice that means talking about those issues whenever it arises but it’s something that shouldn’t really exist in the first place. In this podcast Alice also takes us through her most challenging moment when she was taken off of funding and left the national swimming centre back in 2017. As she says, her self-worth was wrapped up in swimming and that was a lesson she probably needed. She also talks about sexism in women’s sport and the pressures from society that dictate sportswomen should look a certain way.

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Image credit: With thanks to Alice Dearing

Music: Otis McDonald

When you ask Livvy Breen what her biggest challenge has been the answer is almost like a reflex - Rio 2016 Going into those Paralympic Games, Livvy was one of the breakout stars to watch but things didn’t exactly go to plan. Yet from that lowest low came her highest high. The Rio experience led to her changing coach, changing her training location and essentially changing her life. 10 months later she became World Champion. These days Livvy is one of the most recognisable British athletes and has been a fighter right from day one. But even with the weird circumstances we find ourselves in right now with all things coronavirus, even now the 24-year-old is doing what she can to raise awareness. Her particular focus right now is on face masks, something we all have to get used to, but face masks make it very difficult if you’re deaf and reliant on lip reading, just like Livvy. In this episode Livvy takes us through these important issues, the high and lows of her career and she explains why you should always keep fighting no matter what.

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Image credit: With thanks to Olivia Breen

Music: Otis McDonald

This weekend's episode of SportSpiel is a little bit different - but arguably one of our most important shows.

On July 10 we hosted a live panel organised by our wonderful charity partners The Mintridge Foundation as part of their 28NotOut campaign – all about Mental Health and sport.

The event was held to raise money for the Max Hunter fund, and Max was a hugely important person to a lot of people.

Tragically last year he died by suicide at the age of just 28.

So that was one of the aims of this live panel – to normalise the conversations around mental health and the benefit of sport. Helping us do that were four amazing panellists.

First up we had England Rugby and Leicester Tigers star Dan Cole who told us about some of his own experiences as well as plenty of rugby conversation along the way – from the highs of the 2019 World Cup to the lows of the 2015 tournament and battles with injury.

As well as Dan we were also joined by psychotherapist Gemma Saggers, Liam Durkin from the Papyrus charity who focus on the prevention of young suicide and also Dan Griffin from Stamford Rugby club who was a close friend of Max.

There’s a lot to learn from this live panel and we hope you enjoy the evening as much as we did.

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Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton host this special episode with former cricketer Patrick Foster as part of The Mintridge Foundation’s #28NotOut – raising money for the Max Hunter Fund.

This is one of the most eye-opening and honest accounts we have ever hosted on this podcast as Patrick takes us through his journey with a severe gambling addiction.

It’s an addiction that has plagued his life for years and drove him to the brink of suicide.

But it all changed with a truly vital phone call to his brother – and that’s what led him down the road to recovery.

Now the ambassador for The Mintridge Foundation uses his experiences to educate others to the dangers and also to push for a greater understanding of mental health.

That’s the overall message we want to send as part of #28NotOut – to normalise these types of conversations.

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Music: Otis McDonald

Katie Taylor needs no introduction to sports fans.  The two-weight World Champion is a boxing pioneer, transcends her sport in ways few can match and has inspired thousands of people. One of those thousands was a 16-year-old Shamrock Rovers footballer who dreamt of playing for Arsenal - Gráinne Walsh. After meeting Taylor, the now 24-year-old was inspired to take up the sport and, just four years later, they were competing on the same team as each other.

It's the perfect example of how a role model can change what you want from life.

Gráinne's own career is also picking up pace after winning bronze at the 2019 European Games in Minsk. 

The dream is now very much centred on Olympic qualification - a dream that remains alive after a ruptured thumb ligament in January this year.

For Gráinne, she was incredibly thankful when Tokyo 2020 became Tokyo 2021.

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For tickets and information about our #28NotOut event with England Rugby star Dan Cole click here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/28-not-out-mental-health-sport-panel-with-sportspiel-tickets-107528791510?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

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Image credits: With thanks to Gráinne Walsh

Music: Otis McDonald

Depression, anxiety, stress and self-doubt – these are just some of your mind’s monsters.

It’s something Hazel Gale is all too familiar with, having been plagued by her doubting voice during her boxing and kickboxing career.

The voice is one thing, but it’s the impact it has on the rest of the body that proved to be her undoing.

Hazel was petrified of looking weak and that fear took over. It resulted in overtraining, chronic fatigue, stress and depression.

Eventually boxing ‘broke her’.

Today, Hazel is a cognitive hypnotherapist having discovered the form of therapy when she was at her lowest. She’s also the author of the book The Mind Monster Solution: How to overcome self-sabotage & reclaim your life.

She’s now in a position to help others tame their own mind monsters, but it’s been a long road to get to this position.

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For more information on cognitive hypnotherapy and Hazel’s book you can do so here - https://hazelgale.com/

For tickets and information about our #28NotOut event with England Rugby star Dan Cole click here - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/28-not-out-mental-health-sport-panel-with-sportspiel-tickets-107528791510?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

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Image credits: With thanks to Greg Funnell and Hazel Gale

Music: Otis McDonald