Women's Football Newsletter: Huge increases in women’s football revenue within a decade, say UEFA

Off the back of a hugely successful Women’s Euro 2022, UEFA have published an in depth report into the finances of women’s football, forecasting commercial revenue increasing sixfold to €686 million by 2033, with club sponsorship set to increase to €295 million in that time.

The report – The Business Case for Women’s Football – aims to rectify historical data anomalies potential investors to women’s football have previously had. UEFA described earlier research as “limited, inconsistent and incomplete.” The European governing body say that their new research provides “clarity both in understanding the game now and quantifying return on investment in the future.”

UEFA put the total women’s football fanbase at 144 million now, but they predict a 126 per cent increase to 328 million fans over the next decade.

The report’s authors say there is “a clear investment opportunity for leagues, clubs, brands and broadcasters to meet the increasing expectations of society and contribute significantly to the development and professionalisation of the women’s game.”

"Very ambitious project”

“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,” said Nadine Kessler, UEFA’s Chief of Women’s Football.

“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.

“As this report shows, now is the time to capitalise on the momentum we have created together, now is the time to get involved, now is the time to invest.”

Describing it as “a very ambitious project” Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA Deputy General Secretary & Director of Football Division, added: “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.”

 

Angel City $100 million valuation reflects women’s soccer boom

NWSL Franchise Angel City raised investment in April 2021 on an enterprise value of $100 million, Sportico reported. The valuation, which raised money from 100 investors, was more than double the next closest known women’s football franchise.

The LA club has a roster of co-owners from the aristocracy of women’s sport and celebrity culture. They include USWNT stars including Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach; the tennis player, Serena Williams; and actresses Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria and Jennifer Garner. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is the club’s lead investor.

Women’s football franchises have been increasingly valuable commodities in recent years. An investment group paid $35 million for Washington Spirit in February and Gotham City were reportedly valued at $40 million.

"Our kit is the highest grossing"

However, Angel City have stacked up commercial deals, including a reported eight figure deal with DoorDash and partnerships with Gatorade and Heineken. The club brings in average crowds of 19,000 – more than nearly half of MLS franchises.

“I would say that Angel City has more sponsorship revenue today than two hands worth of men’s professional sports teams,” co-founder and president Julie Uhrman said at a Sportico event in March. “We believe our kit is the highest grossing of any women’s team in the U.S.”

 

Chelsea boss calls for more big stadium events and break from FA

Chelsea’s long serving manager, Emma Hayes, has called on more “big stadium events” to build on the popularity of women’s football after this summer’s European Championships – which she describes as a “tipping point” in the growth of the women’s game.

Tottenham, Everton, Manchester City and Liverpool all have women’s matches planned for their main venues this season and Hayes has said that they should become more regular features of the calendar.

“I think it’s important we try to establish these big stadium events as regular things, rather than just once a year; ideally move towards a six- or eight-game situation,” she was quoted by The Athletic.

“I don’t know if they’ll all be sellouts but I think they’ll be much more solid numbers than they were 12 months ago, and they won’t be giveaways. And that, for me, is the big difference: they’ll be paid-for tickets.”

Not the FA’s responsibility

Hayes also called on the Women’s Super League to break from the FA, saying that it was the job of a body or organisation with proper experience in running leagues.

“The next step is the league leaving the FA and going to the Premier League or an independent body and that there is a vision around the women’s game so we don’t just have single big moments or events once every two years or once a year — that they’re every week.

“We need the expertise coming into the game. And I’ve been really vocal about it because you need experience. That’s not the FA’s responsibility, they don’t run leagues. It’s not their job to do that, they’re there for the national team.

“It should be in the hands of those who have experience doing that [running leagues], that’s the real legacy for me.”

 

Dortmund chief: No subsidies or head starts for our women’s team

Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has explained why, unlike other Bundesliga clubs, Borussia Dortmund has not acquired a professional license in women's football, instead starting in the district league.

Speaking to the podcast “FE: male view on football”, Watzke said that the club had a duty not to simply crush other regional teams playing women’s football on account of his club’s historic strength. He also said that Dortmund would not subsidise a women’s team.

“We discussed it years ago, but it was always a double-edged sword. Dortmund used to be a real sports city, Borussia Dortmund absorbed everything without wanting to. The club completely dominates this city and we had a certain responsibility,” he said.

“If we appear as a [professional club], it will be relatively difficult for the other clubs,” said Watzke. “We made a conscious decision to start at the bottom because we didn't want to kill anyone because of our good performances.”

No such niceties

“Of course we want to get promoted,” Watzke said. "If the income increases so that we can afford the second or first league, then we will do it, but we will not operate subsidised football from the outset… We will not do it in such a way that we triple what is paid by other teams in the league just because we are Borussia Dortmund.”

Despite Watzke’s apparent altruism, Dortmund’s women’s team have shown no such niceties on the pitch: they concluded their debut season in the regional leagues by winning all 18 matches with 143 goals scored and just 3 conceded.