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Louise Bawden, Duty Editor Omnisport (senior video journalist), is one of an exclusive band of women working for the media at the World Cup. We are delighted that Lou is sharing her experiences with Women in Football and providing a unique insight from behind-the-scenes in Russia.

It has been a few days now since I checked in with you all, but I'm happy to report that my World Cup experience so far has been non-stop. 

I have been covering a whole multitude of events from training sessions, press conferences, mixed zones and filming at fan events.

Day Two was filled with getting the many accreditations needed to cover all of these events sorted out and really starting to understand the city, locate where the stadiums, fan zones and important areas we would need to be are located.

We also looked at the transportation to the base camps of the teams around Moscow as this was going to be a huge challenge, working out how we could cover as much as possible every day to best fit our content plan. 

Day Three we were joined by our colleague from Uruguay. One of my favourite parts of  going on any trip is spending time with colleagues and meeting people from all over. People I wouldn’t normally get an opportunity to meet or necessarily spend time with.

That morning Horacio introduced us to the national drink, called Mate, which he told us was one of the most popular traditions of his country. It is all the rage with the stars here in Russia, Suarez, Griezman, Eric Dier and Messi, to name a few. Of course I had to give it a try (see pic above).

We also spent time with fans trying to get a real flavour, of just how many supporters from all over the world have travelled to Russia.

The atmosphere as you walk round Moscow even this soon before the beginning of the tournament is buzzing. The South American fans are here in full force. 

Day Four was my first experience of visiting a team base camp, which entailed a two hour drive outside of Moscow. Portugal are one of the teams based a little further outside of the city, but getting to see Ronaldo and his teammates train was worth the wait.

There is a heavy security presence at all of the camps and thorough checks are made every time you enter a venue, scanning equipment, patting down and turning on all devices. The Portuguese federation have done a fantastic job with the venue and you really feel you're in the heart of their inner circle.

Day Five and we are generally working in teams of two here on the ground, but I went alone to film Peru training in the morning.

A busy day for the whole team in Moscow meant this was Shoot One of a packed day. For my second, I travelled to the CSKA Stadium where there was a FIFA Congress event.

All of the Federations have a team, and each side includes three or four ex-footballing legends such as Cafu, Alex Scott and Mikael Silvestre. They play 20 minute games in a tournament format.

The day finished with a trip to the Peru team hotel to speak to them ahead of flying off to their first game, which is held in Saransk.

Day Six is another day of travelling out to Portugal’s base camp to cover the press conference and training as they prepared to face Spain in their first group stage games. The news broke while we were there that Spain had sacked their manager Julen Lopetegui - much to the delight and cheers of the Portuguese media!

We then raced over to the France press conference to get added reaction to what had become the story of the day.

The French camp is based in a beautiful Museum outside of Moscow near the New Jerusalem Monastery, a really stunning setting. PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe addressed the media and was in good spirits; he believed that Spain were still a favourite despite the chaos in their camp.

It was quite the story on the eve of the opening game, I would like to think nothing surprises me anymore after working in football for nine years but this headline came right out of left field for all media outlets.

Day Seven and the moment we had all been waiting for had nearly arrived, game day fever was sweeping Moscow as the hosts prepared to put on a party for the whole world to watch.

Russian fans and fans from all over the globe flooded the city in noise, colour and anticipation. My role was to film in the fan fest the reactions of the thousands of people gathered to watch the match. It was a real carnival atmosphere with games on stage, traditional and modern Russian music. The tension from the Russian crowd was palpable as the kick off drew closer and closer, hoping their campaign as hosts would begin in victory.

The fans didn’t have to wait long to ease their anxiety and in the 12th minute the atmosphere was euphoric, beer flying everywhere, cheers, flags, hugging and kissing made up the melee of celebrations.

The emphatic 5-0 result by Russia created a rea party atmosphere and the celebrations at the fanfest made it feel like we were at Glastonbury; the noise was so loud we could barely hear ourselves when filming the post game fan reactions and colour.

Now the first game is underway I am even more excited to continue my World Cup Journey, it’s been a busy first week, but so far, so good.

From Russia with Love

Louise

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