The players of the French national football team failed in the European Women’s Championship, but from an economic point of view, this competition became more successful. Why is women’s sports now such a big business?
The players of the French national football team failed in the European Women’s Championship, but from an economic point of view, this competition became more successful. Why is women’s sports now such a big business?
Advertising and television revenue soared during the 2022 FIFA Women’s European Championship, which sold rights to 195 countries and is expected to generate €60 million, four times more than the previous edition.
Visa, Adidas, Nike and Heineken are among the most active sponsors of Women’s football in Europe. For example, Barclays committed to funding the British Women’s Football League for three years, injecting 40 million euros, the same amount it invested in the men’s league 20 years ago.
Investors Take women’s football seriously. However, the difference in the amount invested shows that there is still a long way to go compared to the men’s tournaments.
But the sponsors are already beginning to position themselves in a promising, if not sufficiently exploited, sector full of potential. Promising because women’s sports fans are considered more loyal than men’s sports fans, and therefore like to spend a lot of money on merchandise.
“Machine to make money” on TV
The European Cup quarter-final match between France and the Netherlands drew over 5 million spectators in France alone. In handball, the World Cup final, which the French lost last December, brought the same audience to the men’s Olympic final, which the men won.
Watching records have been smashed across all women’s sports, such as last December’s Cricket World Championships in New Zealand.
TV channel be in sports Qatar decided to focus more on the women’s championships, as it broadcast the three major summer events in the Middle East and Africa, namely the African Cup in football, the European Championship also in football, and France’s role in cycling.
According to a survey conducted in the United Kingdom, the population under the age of 55 is the most passionate part of women’s sports. Additionally, women are attracting a new and highly regarded audience of broadcasters and sponsors.
And is that reflected in the athletes’ rewards?
In most sports, we are still far from the wealth that men get. One of the few exceptions is tennis: for ten years, female tennis players have earned similar rewards to men at major tournaments.
Roger Federer achieved the biggest gains last year, followed by Japan’s Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, ahead of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
However, in the less popular disciplines, there are still strong differences. The winner of the Tour de France will receive a check for €50,000ten times less than the winner of the Tour de France 2022, Denmark’s Jonas Weinggaard.
In football, the American women’s struggle for greater pay equity, led by their superstar Megan Rapinoe, has finally succeeded. After six years of bureaucracy, a landmark agreement was signed in early 2022. A dozen countries, including England, Brazil and Australia, have similar agreements.
