An initiative to raise awareness and increase the media coverage of women’s sports has been launched by the French Ministry of Youth. The new measures include the creation of a new fund to finance the production of female sports content on TV and radio and a women's sporting day.

The project is seen as way of increasing the diversity of sport on French media in the longer term.

“This new initiative has a budget of one million euros per year and was established after a period of consultation, with broadcasters and TV rights holders, that identified production costs as the main obstacle to cover women's sporting events”, said the French Minister of Youth and Sports Valérie Fourneyron.

The funds will be distributed among the French federations that have partnerships or projects with free-to-air TV channels to broadcast women's sport.

The sporting day will take place on 1 February 2014 and will bring together media outlets, sportswomen, activists and other organisations to celebrate female sports and co-organise activities to promote its participation.

The measures follow a conference organised by Sport et Citoyenneté in Paris in November, which lobbied to increase the visibility and media coverage of female sports.