A new Uefa report claims that women’s football is “more down to earth, family-oriented and progressive than the men’s game” and that it could be worth more than half a billion pounds per year by 2033.
The Business Case for Women’s Football, released on Tuesday in the wake of the Lionesses winning Euro 2022 at a home tournament, reveals that women’s football is attracting a younger and more diverse audience than the male equivalent.
The comprehensive findings, based on consultations with more than 20,000 people across 42 clubs leagues, 162 and 11 commercial patterns, tally with i’s story a fortnight ago that an unexpected number of Gen Z supporters — aged between nine and 25 years old — had bought around a third of the record-breaking 574,875 Euro 2022 tickets. Young fans are considered particularly hard to engage with live professional sport.
Uefa’s report also found that one in three women’s football fans are entirely new to the game, raising hopes that a new, young, progressive and diverse audience can further propel the growth of women’s football.
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The report predicts that European women’s football could have a commercial value of £577.71bn by 2033, a staggering sixfold increase on its current value. Sponsorship is the fastest growing revenue stream and it could also increase sixfold, to almost £250m, in the same time period.
“Women’s football is on an incredibly exciting trajectory, with growth being seen across nearly every metric and across all of our stakeholders across Europe,” Nadine Kessler, Uefa’s chief of women’s football, said. “The potential of the women’s game is limitless and we believe we are on course to take women’s football to heights that were unimaginable just a few years ago.”
It’s estimated there are 144 million women’s football fans in Europe and that the fanbase has the potential to double in the next decade. “The fanbase is diverse and largely young, and has strong progressive values,” the report states, revealing that 63 per cent of under 35s believe all clubs should have a women’s team.
Speaking to i in early August, Jenny Mitton, a director at M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment who worked with the English Football Association and Uefa on Euro 2022, said the onus is now on clubs’ commercial teams to maximise the potential of their women’s teams.
“They can take the available data, package their biggest assets and start proactively going to brands, because there’s a clear story to tell now,” Mitton, a key advisor in the growth of the England women’s rugby team, said. “And it doesn’t feel like the commercial teams at the clubs are taking advantage of that.
“If clubs are smart they should say to their sponsors you’ve got this amazing growth platform, you can tell a brilliant story and you’ve got more flexibility than with the men’s players. Put the challenge to brands and ask for equal investment.”
Giorgio Marchetti, Uefa deputy general secretary and director of football division, said: “The Business Case for Women’s Football is a very ambitious project that has been developed in partnership with representatives from all football stakeholders including national associations, leagues, the European Club Association, clubs, broadcasters, sponsors, fans and academic institutions. This report provides all of our stakeholders with a clear understanding of the benefits of investing in the women’s game, and provides them with clear rationale for increasing that investment.”
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