Irish football player Stephanie Roche was the "first woman to be among the three finalists for goal of the year" awarded by FIFA, according to Danielle Rossingh of BLOOMBERG. Her volley for Ireland’s Peamount United against Wexford Youths, watched by 85 spectators, was up against a diving header by Netherlands captain Robin van Persie vs. Spain and James Rodriguez’s dipping shot for Colombia against Uruguay. Both were made at the World Cup. Even with close to 6 million views on YouTube for Roche’s goal -- scored with Nike boots -- "a slew of publicity and praise from the likes of former England striker Gary Lineker, the 25-year-old Ireland international didn’t get a payoff from new sponsorship deals." Roche: "A lot of people like to think that because I’m in the public eye, I’m getting loads of stuff but that’s not the reality of it at the minute." Dublin-born Roche made €800 ($945) a month last year playing pro football for French Ligue 1 side ASPTT Albi. She said that she has been "given some beauty products for free, and was paid by Continental Tires for doing a few photo shoots as they sponsor the women’s league in Ireland." Roche: "And that’s about it." Lineker, now a sports commentator for the BBC, called her strike "goal of the season" on Twitter. London-based Women in Sport CEO Ruth Holdaway said it was "disappointing that no sponsor has taken advantage of the phenomenal public profile enjoyed by Stephanie, but it is a situation that highlights the disgraceful disparity that still faces female athletes, regardless of their chosen sport." Coventry University sports business professor Simon Chadwick said, "Women don't draw big money. Unless you are blond, tall, Russian and a tennis player, there’s so little money in women’s sport. It may be the case that sponsors know that women are generally not persuaded to buy a product because they have seen the brand on a sports field. Unlike men, women could well be motivated into purchases by other mediums" (BLOOMBERG, 1/12).
