Malala's new goal to level the field for women's sport

The Nobel prize winner launches new firm to invest in teams and show girls that they can win equality

- Jessica Hayden Assistant Sports Editor

On a cold day in February, a familiar figure stood in the middle of the pitch at Twickenham Stoop stadium after a Harlequins v Bristol Bears women's rugby match. There was a time when the only spectators were the players' friends and families, but that day 6,780 fans attended, desperate to meet Ilona Maher, a US rugby player and one of the most famous sportswomen.

The familiar figure on the pitch was Malala Yousafzai, the human rights activist. But it was clear that it was Maher, not the Nobel peace prize winner, that the fans were there to see.

Yousafzai's trip to Twickenham was part of a two-year tour with her husband to watch women's sports. “We went all around the world,” Yousafzai said. They went to cricket, football, rugby, netball and basketball across major leagues, as well as the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. Their extensive fieldwork has culminated in Yousafzai founding an investment firm for women's sports.