Sports Gazette

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Katie Shanahan Q and A on spending the summer in the Lionesses’ camp Down Under

Having represented her country at the highest level in hockey before turning her attention to journalism and working for broadcasters as high-profile as Sky, the BBC and ITV, Katie Shanahan has already enjoyed several careers rolled in to one. The Sports Gazette caught up with Katie just weeks after she had returned from covering England at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. From bumping into Lionesses in burger bars to going live to millions in her first World Cup final, she had plenty to say…

Sports Gazette: What is your first memory of a World Cup?

Katie Shanahan: The Rugby World Cup in 2003; Jonny Wilkinson with the extra time, last kick of the game drop goal in England’s final victory against Australia. Interestingly enough, that was at Stadium Australia, and it was where the Women’s World Cup final was being held this year. So, 20 years since my first memory of a World Cup, I presented a World Cup final. It was an absolute dream come true. The 20-year cycle was quite surreal actually.

SG: Was rugby your main sport of interest growing up? You obviously pursued a successful career in hockey and now cover football all-year round.

KS: I’ve always had a broad interest in all sports. I was always really sporty as a youngster. I used to play football and tennis and I did cricket when I was really young. My first interest was hockey, so all of my attention went on that. But I grew up in a rugby family, which is why we were all watching that World Cup final moment. I’ve always had a passion for football, but I suppose I didn’t realize that I was going to go into it in such depth, presenting football most days of the week. it’s been quite the journey, but one that I think we’re only at the beginning of.

SG: Your hockey career stands out on your CV, can you tell us how you ended up representing England at international level?

KS: I started playing at the age of nine, and it was because me and my friend wanted to do an activity on Sundays. My brother was playing rugby every Sunday with her brother, so my mum’s friend told us to go down to Wimbledon Hockey Club and see if we like it and take it from there! We joined in a session, I absolutely loved it and then ended up getting really good at it.

I went to Kingston Grammar School where I got a sports scholarship mainly because of my hockey credentials. It is a very good hockey school and they win National Hockey Championships all of the time. I was in a perfect position to drive my hockey career forward. I was playing for the first team at Surbiton hockey club at 14, before winning the Premiership with Slough, and that only helped getting attention from England. I got selected for county teams and then for regional. At regional you went go to Millfield School in Somerset where the England selectors would stand there with clipboards and take notes. I still remember whenever I scored, I’d always look up and just check they were watching.

On the back of that, I ended up playing for England Hockey for five years. Traveling around the world, for example taking part in the Euros, winning bronze and the UK school games where we won gold. I made my debut against Ireland and scored two goals, which was amazing. I’m actually a bit Irish – the Shanahan’s are from Cork.

I then went and got a hockey scholarship at the University of North Carolina. I was there for a season but decided to come home because the contract was too strict. It was a very strict schedule and wasn’t what I imagined. It was an amazing experience within that season though. I got an idea of what American college is like with fraternities, frat parties, sororities, all of that. What you see in the films is exactly what it’s like. Keg stands, the lot. Oh yeah, I did all of that! Then I went to Australia for six months, travelled up the West Coast being paid to play before doing some travelling. I ended up having an accidental gap year through hockey commitments. I eventually came home, went to Loughborough University and carried on playing for England. I loved playing for England.

SG: How did the transition to a career in sports broadcasting come about?

KS: I had an accident playing hockey where the ball hit the blade of someone’s hockey stick and flew straight between my eyebrows, splitting my head open. I crashed to the floor and passed out, blood was pouring everywhere. All of the other players were screaming and running away. I had to have plastic surgery and spinal reconstruction to move my facial bones back in to place. It took about a year to recover, but also a lot of mental damage came from that. I think I could have gone back and played in the Premiership, but I knew I was never going to be the player that I used to be, so I decided to not go back. I’ve never played hockey or picked up a stick since.

I finished a Geography degree at Loughborough and got a job as Chelsea TV’s Production Coordinator. I’d have to put the whole production together for matches; booking cameramen, ordering food, satellite feeds, liaising with the club. So that gave me a really good grounding. I did that for a couple of years after university and then realized it wasn’t what I wanted to do long term. I wanted to be a journalist. So, I quit my job and went to St. Mary’s University to do a Sports Journalism Masters. I believe it helps to do a Sports Journalism degree to get to the very highest level. I got a distinction in my Masters, applied for work at the BBC and Sky, got both, and then did freelance for them. If I wasn’t at one, I was at the other. I ended up being at the BBC for six years, working for BBC Radio London, then TV London before moving up to Manchester for three years to be part of the BBC Sport team.

SG: Have the skills that helped you become a professional athlete translated well to becoming a journalist?

KS: The skills that I had in my hockey career had been determination, drive, being well prepared. Having extremely high standards all came from playing hockey, and I’ve just channelled them into a strong broadcasting career where there is very high pressure all of the time. I can always tell the people that play sport to a high level because they’re wired differently.

SG: What have your broadcasting career highlights been so far?

KS: For the BBC, I did the Tokyo Olympics, Winter Olympics, Wimbledon, Commonwealth Games, so kind of did everything that you could do. And now I’ve come back to Sky and worked for ITV. I’ve done two World Cups in the last eight months, done a World Cup final and now I’m kicking on at Sky with the Premier League, EFL and WSL so I feel as though, with the FA Cup and Lionesses as well [for ITV], I’m pretty busy when it comes to broadcasting!

https://twitter.com/KatieShanahan3/status/1642217182846132224?s=20

SG: Do you remember being told that you were going to be covering England at the Women’s World Cup for ITV?

KS: It was a bumpy road. We weren’t sure when the broadcast deal for the tournament was going to get over the line. I was told I was going but then I couldn’t tell anyone because it would give away that ITV had the rights. So I actually only started packing my bags three weeks before. That’s only when I was 100% sure I was going. There was obviously a lot of issues with FIFA. But it was a good collaboration between ITV and the BBC, getting it over the line.

SG: The Lionesses recorded their best-ever World Cup finish by reaching the final. Was there a confidence among the squad ahead of the tournament despite key players like Leah Williamson, Fran Kirby and Beth Mead missing out through injury?

KS: They definitely said that they had the confidence that they could win it, I think the question mark was which players were going to step up. Millie Bright did a great job as captain. It’s still a very young team, they know that they’ve got lots of opportunities in the future. Obviously, they had to deal with a lot of noise as well with the bonus issue, Mary Earp’s goalkeeper shirt etc, but they are now in a strong position to demand what they deserve. They’ll feel like this is a missed opportunity, which is a shame because they actually did really well, bearing in mind they had all the setbacks.

There definitely was a real family feel within the England camp throughout the whole World Cup, and that was really good. We were in Brisbane, and we saw Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp in the local burger bar. I’d normally go on runs, and you’d run past the players. Most evenings we’d be going out for meals, and one night before the final, every player was out with their families. We had to go past seven restaurants to be able to find one which didn’t have an England player and their family in it! It’s a lovely togetherness that they had, and I don’t think what they achieved has been celebrated enough.

SG: You spent a lot of time around the players and staff inside the camp, do you have to be wary of maintaining a professional distance from them?

KS: You need to keep your distance even though you get to know them really well. They’re also a bit wary of journalists, which is fine. You can’t be mates with them because if they lose a World Cup final, you’ve got to ask the difficult questions. I’m a journalist first. You can’t ever get too close because that just makes it harder for you in long run.

SG: Sarina Wiegman has become something of a national icon in England following her success as manager, what is your relationship with her like?

KS: I first met her two years ago when she got the job. We sat down and we did a one-to-one interview. I was thinking of ways to make a great first impression. I did some research and found out she also went to the University of North Carolina, she was a Tar Heel. It’s quite famous, Michael Jordan went there. I think when a Tar Heel meets another Tar Heel, there’s that mutual understanding of the history of the university and what it stands for. Ever since that love-in we have got on very well.

With Sarina, you have to ask good questions, like with any good manager, and then you can build respect over time. I think I have an extremely good relationship with her. If it’s a really hard interview, like after the final, then I think she’d probably give me a different answer to someone else because of that relationship. I admire her a lot as a manager, I think she’s world class. She’s very driven but very humble, and she believes in the ability of the players and is unbelievably down to earth. All of the players adore her and respect her. I think after now losing two World Cup finals, she’s going to find a way to win one soon.

SG: Did you get much of an opportunity to explore Australia and relax away from covering the tournament?

KS: Some people relaxed and went to the beach and chilled out, but because it was just me and a producer [covering England for ITV], I didn’t have time. One day you would have an interview, the next it would be a press conference and then you’d have the match. The next day you would be flying somewhere else, and it would all start over again. You’d be so knackered that you would go to bed. I didn’t watch any television when I was out there because I wanted to be in a really good place with my prep.

I saw my family in Sydney, but that was on the day that Keira Walsh surprised everyone and returned from injury early. We had to do a live at 10pm. You can’t fully switch off. And I think you also don’t want to drop the ball. So if you’re always on, you don’t miss anything. If you go and relax, then, you might miss a line. But that’s very much me, I’m kind of on it all the time.

ITV only had me and a producer, which was a massive compliment for me because obviously they trusted me with their output. It ended up being brilliant because if you’re the only one out there, it means that you end up getting all of these amazing opportunities like being pitchside at a World Cup final. But it was extremely hard work for six weeks. ITV have very high standards and if you don’t meet them, the work won’t go out on air.

SG: A World Cup final is the pinnacle for many journalists and broadcasters to cover, what was that day like for you?

KS: Everyone was pretty nervous because it’s such a big day. My phone was blowing up with messages saying it’s the biggest day of my career. I try to block out all of that noise. Everyone’s actually really excited because we’re about to finish, but it’s also a World Cup final and England are in it. There was a bit of disbelief, but I believed England were going to do it.

The atmosphere was incredible as the teams came out and when the camera zoomed in on the faces of the England players you could see how focused they were. And then we were underway. Spain took control and England missed a few chances, then Lucy Bronze goes on that run and Spain end up scoring… Everyone in the press box was saying how good they (Spain) looked and how it could get even worse. I think there was a realization within the first 15 minutes of the game that England weren’t going to win this. Everything went back from excitement to nervousness.

Doing the interviews afterwards was hard, because you know you have to ask difficult questions. Millie Bright had glassy, watery eyes, she was clearly devasted, which was really sad. There was a sinking feeling. Everyone felt really bad for the girls, but also wanted them to know they had done well to reach a World Cup final.

There were contrasting emotions. You’re done, you get to go home, you finally get to see your family after a long six weeks being away, but England didn’t win the World Cup. It was so close, but also the best team won. So that’s fair, that’s sport.

SG: Have you processed the experience yet? What will be your abiding memories of the tournament?

KS: I don’t think I’ve had time to process it. I was back for three days and then straight to covering the Premier League. But it was a whirlwind wasn’t it? It was an amazing tournament. It was the best Women’s World Cup to date. I think we saw with the likes of Nigeria and Colombia and Morocco that the gulf in class between the countries is definitely closing. England saw that against Nigeria, England could have easily lost that game.

Unfortunately, the Spanish Federation and Luis Rubiales have completely overshadowed the World Cup as well. It is such a shame, they’ve won but they’ve got players at home, who could have won a World Cup, but have decided not to play.

England vs Australia [in the semi-finals] was probably my favourite game of the whole World Cup. When Sam Kerr scored… if Stadium Australia had a roof it would have blown off. It gives me goosebumps because it was an insane atmosphere. But looking at the World Cup as a whole, the Lionesses should be really proud.

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