Diletta Leotta: ‘It was not easy to fit into a world dominated by men’

Welcome to Moving the Goalposts, the Guardian’s new (and free) women’s football newsletter. Here’s an extract from this week’s edition. To receive the full version once a week, just pop your email in below:

This summer has, more than ever, focused eyes on the achievements of women on the pitch. Players from around the world have dazzled fans and emphatically illustrated that this is where they belong.

Just as important, however, is the increasing visibility of women in roles off the pitch. Nowhere is this more evident than within the media. Over the past few years we have seen more and more female voices involved as journalists, on the radio and as presenters and pundits on our television screens.

Italy’s Diletta Leotta is a shining example. As a presenter for DAZN for the past four years, she is the face of the platform’s Serie A coverage and has also worked on its Women’s Champions League broadcasting. With more than a decade of experience, she has had to break through the barriers of a traditionally male business and takes immense pride in working for a team that is now 40% female.

“In 2018 I remember that I was completely alone on the field”, she tells Moving the Goalposts. “But now [there] are so many women doing this job so I’m really happy to be part of this team full of women. At the beginning it was not easy to fit in in this world dominated by men. And now, I think that we are ready to experience an inclusive show with football and women in football.”

Affable and energetic, it is clear within minutes of meeting Leotta how passionate she is about her job. “I have loved football since I was a little girl. It never stops surprising me, and it never stops being exciting,” she says. “My last match, Milan [against