The Business Case for Women’s Football: Why the Smart Money Is Moving Now

By Tahoe Lillelund

Women’s football already has 500 million fans, expected to reach 800 million by 2030 (Nielsen). While on track to be a top-five global sport by 2030, historically it receives less than 1% of total sports sponsorships. Let's dig deeper to explore reasons for this gap and what it means for clubs, brands, and investors.

The past five years have brought undeniable momentum. The 2023 Women’s World Cup broke global viewership records, filling stadiums and reaching a global audience of 2 billion viewers across broadcast and digital. UEFA’s Women’s Champions League continues to set new attendance highs, with Barcelona selling out the Camp Nou for back-to-back matches. Private equity funds like Mercury 13, Monarch Collective, Sixth Street, and Seven Seven Six are actively buying into women’s clubs, signaling belief in long-term asset appreciation. 

Global brands are massively undervaluing women’s football. Deloitte came out and said that for every $1 spent in women’s sports, sponsors see $7 returned in consumer value. Meanwhile the men’s side sees about a $2-$6 return per $1 spent. Why is this? This is because women make up more than 60% of the fanbase, with a much higher household purchasing power. These women fans don’t just watch, with 75% of the purchasing control, they are influencing and deciding what brands are brought into their homes. Compared to male fans, female fans are 25% more likely to buy from a brand that sponsors their team. Women’s sports sponsorship delivers a higher customer value return because the audience is younger, more female, more values-driven, and more commercially influential, and because brands face less clutter in the sponsorship landscape.

We are seeing very strong signals of interest and change. Bay FC breaking the record for NWSL single-match attendance record, Angel City FC’s community first model is redefining sponsorship deals, and NWSL has a deal with CBS, ESPN, and Amazon worth $60m per year. 

The math isn't complicated. Clubs can still build women's football infrastructure for pennies on the dollar compared to men's equivalents. Brands can lock in primary sponsorship positions that would cost 10x more elsewhere. Investors are looking at teams trading at massive discounts to their commercial potential.

But that opportunity shrinks every quarter. The smart money is already moving.

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