Watch this and Chill

Karen Carney: Women’s football in England could be a ‘billion pound industry’ in the next ten years.

Whilst this idea is seemingly expecting the impossible, fans of the women’s game might find themselves scratching their heads and wondering if it might one day happen.

The growth of women’s football (or soccer) has been an ongoing matter. With numbers of big events reaching record highs, it can’t be dismissed as a minority interest. In 2022, for example, over 91,000 attended the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 final between Germany and England. After this game, more fans were seen at women’s games and it was as if the women’s game had finally had a watershed moment.

Increased Youth Participation

At the grassroots level, women’s football is encouraging increased youth participation. Many countries have youth programs for girls, and organizations like FIFA and UEFA have supported initiatives to encourage young girls to take up the sport. This will mean more girls will want to play football and will see the game as being open to them rather than as being a men-only sport.

Professional Leagues

More countries have developed professional women’s football leagues. For example, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the U.S. and the Women’s Super League in England have grown in stature, attracting international talent and sponsorship. These leagues are modelled on the men’s leagues. This might make it look as though women’s football is lagging far behind, but the aim is for the women’s game to have equal standing with men’s soccer.

Influential Players: Players like Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Marta, and Megan Rapinoe have become global icons, helping to inspire a new generation of female players. Sometimes, as in Rapinoe’s example, they champion social issues, spreading their influence even further.

Increase of Sporting Ability and Talent: as women’s football becomes professional, it leads to advanced levels of players’ skills. Alongside the men, women develop their own outsize capacity of ball control and prowess, with players gaining fans for their remarkable achievements. Comparing male and female players is obviously unfair. But it is certain that the increase of ability is rising faster in women’s football than in men’s. You only need to look at some of the incredible skills of players like Bonmati (Spain), Bunny Shaw (Jamaica), to see that men’s football has no monopoly on talent.

Inclusive Atmosphere:

The inclusive atmosphere of women’s matches is a big factor in the growth of women’s football. Fans feel welcomed by the supportive ethos of women’s football. It’s less tribal, and therefore a more positive atmosphere than the men’s games. This encourages people to watch games even if they would feel discouraged from attending men’s football matches. At most women’s game the crowd tends to be much younger. In time, these young girls will become the future football stars of tomorrow. And as that happens, more girls will play the game. It’s a virtuous circle.

The Value of TV Rights

You can see that women’s football has greater value when major media companies get involved. Big player Netflix announced that they have acquired the rights to broadcast the World Cups of 2027 and 2031 in the United States. It gives the game a much bigger platform to display the undoubted talent of the female stars.

We think that all of these factors can positively benefit the growth of women’s football.