How can women's football level the playing field? Support for equality, representation and ...?
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Hello! Welcome back to?PITCHSIDE MONITOR,?your one stop guide to club management. This week we will continue our deep analysis into women's football, part 1 of which was our previous edition. Today, we will:
First up, is our section on club management.
The journey of women's football has been one of (in)continuous growth and resilience, overcoming countless obstacles. While the sport has undeniably made strides over the years, the challenges remain steep. The FIFA Women's World Cup? is currently offering us an opportunity to reflect on these obstacles and understand what still needs to be done.
The challenges faced by women's football are varied and multi-faceted, with numerous factors contributing to the slower development. The European Club Association (ECA) 's Club Management Guide [Jarosz, Kornakov, S?derman] highlighted six key areas:
The ‘COVID Crisis 2020 in Football’ issue on women’s football we published went on to offer further insight into the landscape of women’s football and provide a snapshot of how it was handling the health crisis that engulfed the world just a few years ago. The findings from that research confirmed the different-paced development between men's and women's football, emerging polarisation, and an unsustainable economy, all exacerbating the existing challenges.
Despite the seemingly reduced visibility gap, which has meant an increase in the prominence of women’s football, at least it’s elite level, globally, the gulf in resources between the elite levels of men's and women's football remains astonishingly large, with no signs of the required pace to bridge this gulf in the immediate future.
In our previous edition, we spoke about the three scenarios in which economic and commercial parity between women’s and men’s football could be reached:
We wanted to explore these three options a little deeper in this week’s newsletter.
The first option is probably not going to be to the liking of men’s clubs and leagues, but we are seeing some evidence that this could become reality at least in part: over the last years women’s football has worked very hard to build up a visual identity that is very similar to the men’s game, only with female players. We now have roughly the same competitions, the same visuals and increasingly the same clubs and sponsoring brands on both sides. Eventually, once major sponsors operating in football realise that getting almost the same exposure and association with the leading football brands of the world can be achieved for a fraction of the price and without the negative elements and price tags that can sometimes be associated with the men’s side of the game, who is to say that they will not begin transferring their marketing budgets from men’s to women’s football at least in part?
The second option will be a hard sell to the football fans, who are already paying significant amounts for season tickets, media subscriptions that are becoming ever more complex if you want to watch more than just your favourite team, match-day costs, and merchandising. In a high-profile action ahead of the women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, FIFA ’s president Gianni Infantino openly decried the low amounts offered for the tournament’s media rights by some of the leading countries’ broadcasters, particularly in Europe. In the end, the agreements were reached despite a threat of a possible blackout, but the amounts paid are probably still very far from what the men’s game is seeing, and typically represent around 1% of the men’s. If the current domestic English broadcasting deal, standing at over €3 billion, is doubled to also pay the same amount for the WSL, you would go from roughly €50 to €100 per capita annual cost to the population of England, which may be hard to imagine in the midst of a 'cost-of-living' crisis.
One particularly interesting element of Infantino’s intervention was his revelation that women’s World Cup broadcasts generate around 50-60% half of the men’s views: so this really begs the question, whether broadcasters are getting a major bargain with the women’s World Cup (and other women’s football properties) and are simply trying to cling on to this high-margin deal for as long as possible, or whether they are overpaying for the men’s game as it stands and are aiming to 'balance' the books by paying much less for women’s football?
This brings us to the third option: one that probably has the most potential, but it requires finding a solution to this seeming paradox of growing visibility that is not yet being translated into expected revenues in a linear way.
The starting point here should be establishing whether we believe that women’s football can achieve the same economic level that the men’s game has demonstrated particularly in the last few decades – and for us the answer is a clear 'yes', because this should be the true measure of equality. But having the potential and achieving it are two different things, and in order to find this solution, what is needed is a complete focus on women’s football as an entirely separate 'product' with its own value and full value chain, rather than a complementary offering to men’s football or part of its 'community outreach' or 'development' programmes.
While these challenges may seem daunting, it is important to remember the progress made so far. Women's football has come a long way, from being belittled and banned by football’s own governing bodies to celebrating its ninth World Cup tournament. However, this reflection is not to diminish the tasks that lay ahead, but to underline the resilience of women's football and its capacity to persevere and ultimately overcome.
The forthcoming years hold the promise of finally stepping on the path of continued growth, and the key to overcoming these challenges lies in concerted efforts from all stakeholders.With continued support for equality; a full representation within national and international governance structures that is not limited to being able to discuss women’s football matters only but with a valued voice that can have an impact in the entire football ecosystem; a sustainable economy, and the will to move forward, women's football (and women in football!) can truly level the playing field and become the key new energy and driving force in developing the game for the next fifty years.
It is an uphill journey, but one that the women's football community is ready to undertake with proper advisory steps but also respecting some key elements such as the traditional women’s clubs not branded by major men’s teams?that can still flourish and champion the core interests of women’s football such as the likes of FC Roseng?rd , BIIK Shymkent, FC Gintras or FC Glasgow City.
Last but not least, true long-term success for women’s football will not be measured by record spectator and broadcast visualisation numbers achieved at the 'peak of the pyramid' part of the game, if these are not followed up by the 'bread-and-butter' numbers of grassroots players taking up and sticking with the game, and true equality in things like numbers of teams providing training and playing opportunities, numbers of coaches working in the game or access to good facilities at optimal times for as many people as possible, both girls and boys in equal measure.
In our Football Talks section this week, we caught up with Gina Lewandowski , a former professional player. We asked Gina a few questions, and here is what she had to say.
1) Can you share with us what you have been doing post your playing career?
I am currently in a new role as the Associate Head Coach at a university, where my primary responsibility involves training, mentoring, and coaching young girls ranging in age from 18 to 21. This marks my first year transitioning from being a player to a coach. It's quite an exciting journey as coaching has always been a passion close to my heart.
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2) From your perspective, what are the key differences between women's and men's football in the US?
Reflecting back to 2007 in the US, we didn't have a professional league, unlike Europe where professional soccer had been established for quite a long time. The absence of a stable professional league was due to the lack of business-oriented people in club management. Fast forward to 2013, a league was created and has since become stable. The women’s league is now developing impressively. Interestingly, the training emphasis for youth teams is quite distinct. I had a coaching course in Germany where the focus was more on teaching technical and tactical skills rather than cross-training. In the US, we focus on developing athletes and bringing them to their full potential, especially during Youth League.
3) Can you point out any perceived differences between coaching boys and girls?
Boys tend to be very task-oriented while girls are goal-oriented. Recognising and understanding these differences are crucial for effective coaching and development. It's more about understanding the concept of equality versus equity and tailoring the training to individual needs based on their age and capabilities.
4) Can you elaborate on the attitude towards women's football in the US and Europe?
To elevate the game, we need to raise more voices. Advocacy in women's football has grown exponentially. In the US, there's a greater fight for rights like equality and equity. It's about becoming the best version of themselves and managing family alongside their career. What I've noticed is that the love of the game seems more pronounced in Europe than in the US, where it's often treated more as a job rather than a passion. The focus differs as well, in the US it's more individual, whereas in Europe, there's a stronger emphasis on team success.
5) You are participating regularly in the 'skills' clinics & camps. Could you tell us more about your goals and expectations for those initiatives?
I firmly believe that I became the person I am today through sport. The more kids we can get involved, the more impact we can make. The project in Tunisia was an opportunity to share the love of the game, helping participants to experience it and become stronger women. It's all about learning from different cultures and empowering them. As a Community Ambassador for a local hospital, I'm looking to create opportunities for the community, showing how sport can foster values, routine, discipline and a healthy lifestyle. The ultimate aim is to empower kids to have a better childhood. Through this clinic and camp, we hope to help them learn new skills, gain confidence in the game, and share stories of personal journeys. We aim to teach them how to succeed without necessarily having access to the best schools or coaches, especially considering that university fees can be quite high, as high as 78,000 dollars per year in some cases.
6) Women’s world cup is on track, so far all teams played at least once, what are your first impressions and is there is a player, team that already managed to surprise you?
The Women’s World Cup has been exciting to watch so far as the games have become much more competitive compared to the last tournament. Countries have become stronger, faster, more technical and tactical and able to withstand longer periods of play. Along side the top teams, you see other countries like Nigeria, Portugal and Colombia putting together good performances that will make it difficult for the other countries to be as successful.
In our Bottom-49 section this week, we would like to invite your attention to the infographic below, highlighting the number of women’s-only clubs (or women’s section more prominent) in top-level competitions in the top 5 European football markets, done as a comparison from the 2015/16 season to the 2022/23 season.
In our Football Insights section this week, we would like to the share the updated player release analysis for the FIFA Women's World Cup? .
Our team at LTT Sports was involved in the women's club football analysis done by the European Club Association (ECA) . The aim of the analysis was to support the member of the ECA by gathering knowledge and showcase the development of the women's game. More details on this work can be seen here.
That brings us to the end of this week’s newsletter. We hope you found eye-opening insights from our content this week. Each week, we will be curating exclusive content for you from the club management ecosystem. So, stay tuned for more and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter?here!
LTT Sports is an advisory firm focused on connecting football strategy and operations based on experience, analysis and a strong network. At LTT Sports, we have created a set of services for football organisations, providing transversal solutions at any level of the professional football pyramid – to boost performance off the pitch, directly impacting on-pitch results.
*** Disclaimer: LTT Sports is an independent think tank aimed to be a platform of discussion amongst football stakeholders. The answers received for our interviews are personal views of the interviewee and/ or the organisation he or she may represent and strictly do not represent our views on the subject matter.
Contributors to this week's newsletter:? Olivier Jarosz , Konstantin Kornakov , Anne-Marie Itoua , Javier Alejandro Kuan Ayala
Editor: Ajay Abraham