Empowering Women’s Football: Flo-Lloyd Hughes Shares Her Journey and New Venture, The Cutback

Flo, thank you for taking the time to speak to us today. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what you currently do?

I am a freelance broadcaster and writer. I host a women’s football podcast called Counter Pressed with The Ringer and Spotify and I also work with Ian Wright on his show Wrighty’s House. I recently founded my own women’s football media platform called The Cutback.

What initially sparked your interest in both football/sport and journalism? Was there a defining moment when you knew you wanted to pursue this as a career?

I always wanted to work in sport and originally wanted to work in the marketing and agency world, but during a study abroad experience at the University of Miami I fell in love with journalism and broadcasting and realised that was for me.

Could you share a memorable experience, project or an individual piece of work from your career to date that stands out to you?

Launching The Cutback has been really exciting and rewarding. I’ve been wanting to create a dedicated space for in-depth women’s football writing and analysis for a very long time, but I had never found the right time to just go and do it. This year I realised the time was now and I just had to go ahead and get going.

In your experience, what progress have you seen in women’s football coverage, and what are the biggest areas that still need improvement?

I think the overall amount of coverage has increased massively over the last five years and even more so after the 2022 Women’s Euros. I think we are now seeing more coverage but the content is quite generalistic, surface level or is only focused on the England team. We rarely see coverage that goes into more detail on teams, players, coaches and matches. That was the main motivation for launching The Cutback, providing a space for more in-depth coverage of the sport rather than just short match reports or interviews.

You’ve worked across multiple media formats — from podcasts to television and live events. What’s your favorite medium, and how does each format challenge you in different ways?

I think podcasts are my favourite format. It’s the best way to really connect with an audience in a way that feels authentic and relatable. Every show I’ve been a part of I’ve always tried to foster a feeling of community with the audience and podcasts are the best way to do that. You can really build something special with your listeners.

Who are your favourite football writers/journalists/broadcasters at the moment and what do you think it is that makes them so brilliant?

When it comes to independent publishers I love Grace on Football, Not the top 20 and Scouted. All doing amazing things in the world of Substack.

I take a lot of inspiration from outside the football media world especially when it comes to podcasts. My favourite shows are Who Weekly, The Town and Pop Pantheon.

Can you share 3 useful tools or resources which you find helpful to fulfil your role?

Canva is just incredible as is CapCut. Not sure where I would be without them. Running my own podcast and media platform means I’m doing all the social media graphics, videos and posts so I need to be skilled up on all of that.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers/broadcasters looking to break into the industry and build a successful freelance career?

Expand your roster of skills as much as you can. Learn how to record and edit audio. Get to grips with lots of different editing tools and software, meet as many people as you can but don’t be pushy. Learn how to do your taxes.

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