Argentine equality group Economía Femini(s)ta has launched an initiative that will use the attention around the 2018 World Cup in Russia to call on the media, clubs and sponsors working in football to incorporate gender issues into their agendas and business strategies.

‘Mundial de la Igualdad’ (Equality World Cup) will use the momentum around the tournament to address issues including the gender pay-gap in football, access to the game, sexism and misogyny, while also looking at the representation of women in the game.

“We want to know how many women are covering football matches and if there are female commentators. We want to generate discussions around these topics with the same passion with which one discusses a foul or a penalty or celebrates his/her team’s victories.” says Economía Femini(s)ta on their website.

The initiative was launched on Saturday 14 April in Buenos Aires as the neighbouring country Chile hosts the final stage of the CONMENBOL women’s tournament Copa América Feminina.

The launching event included a Hackathon, a discussion on women's football with Evelina Cabrera, founder of the national association of women’s football in Argentina, Monica Santino, founder of La Nuestra Fútbol Femenino, and Matías Lammens, President of Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, and a series of football matches.

Organisations in Colombia (Datasketch) and Peru (Futbol Femenino) are joining the initiative furthering its momentum across the region.