Offensive messages and Twitter trolling during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Female athletes have often been the targets of offensive comments on digital platforms and incivility, trolling and hate speech were again present during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. In this sometimes-toxic environment, it is important to understand what is occurring during such a prestigious global tournament so organizations and platforms recognize the degree of abuse – and consider how to address it. In this study, Twitter posts (n = 294,785) were examined in a quantitative content analysis for swearing, rude and derogatory words, and manually filtered into 700 cases where offensive comments were evident. The findings outline types and topics of trolling and highlight how these elements were expressed during the 2023 World Cup, with females the main targets, often by male perpetrators. Broader implications of this work show the need to find ways to address hostility online towards women in sport.