Judit Berkesi: Women’s Champions League final will be the match of the year

This year will be the first time the UEFA Women’s Champions League final will be held at a venue independent from it’ male counterpart, the history-making match being held in the Groupama Aréna in Budapest on 18 May. The teams who will participate in the final will be known by the end of April, the competition currently at the quarter-final stage.

M4 Sport reporter Judit Berkesi will be playing a key role in promoting the Women’s Champions League final over the coming months as the match’s Hungarian ambassador, in order that as many people as possible are aware about one of the most important matches of the year. Berkesi was a footballer herself, playing in the Women’s NB I and NB II for eight years as a player for László Kórház, winning a championship bronze and a cup runners-up medal. After hanging up her boots she turned towards sports journalism, becoming a reporter for DigiSport and then joining M4 Sport in 2015. She is by now one of the channel’s most popular reporters and was the first female sports reporter to cover a football match on Hungarian television. Besides this she has been a committed promoter of women’s football for many years and plays a role in the development of the sport. She is a member of the Hungarian Football Federation Women’s Committee where she plays an active role in field of communications and media.

“It was very touching that I was approached to promote the most important women’s club match of the year. My reaction to being asked was almost that of a child because I hadn’t expected it at all that my name would crop up in relation to such an important task, given that so many highly qualified people work in women’s football and would be deserving of the opportunity” she said about her appointment. “It is a great joy and honour that I can promote women’s football and this season’s most important club event in my capacity as an ambassador. It is a milestone in women’s football that the Champions League final independent from the men’s event; that in itself will give greater attention to the women’s game, and I’m certain that women’s football in Hungary will also be able to profit from this”.

Berkesi added that amongst television viewers many are just becoming acquainted with women’s football being broadcast but that the feedback has been highly positive, and she is optimistic about how the match in May will be received.

“I think that many will be interested in the Budapest final. The women’s game still needs to gain a suitable level of attention and recognition, and the Champions League final will also be about this for us. Whoever attends the match in person or watches the final on television will be able to see just how big a match it is in women’s football, and I am certain that if people recognise this in Hungary it will greatly increase domestic recognition of the women’s game here. In terms of prestige, the Champions League final represents the same value as the men’s event, so I hope that there will also be a Hungarian participant in the match. Zsanett Jakabfi and German national team player Dzsenifer Marozsán can both hope to be there in the final with their teams. As a neutral viewer it would be nice to cheer for a Hungarian participant, not to mention that their presence in elite football can be a huge motivation for Hungarians, as it can show that we, too, can reach the highest level in football”.