Men’s sport forgot to cherish participation - women’s sport mustn't make the same mistake

My definition of participation is “the act of being motivated to take part in an activity or an event”.

‘Motivated’ is the key additional word for me.? You need motivation to participate - you don’t participate unwittingly.

The connection and motivation in men’s sport between professional sport and grass roots participation (in the more mature markets) has long since parted which is a problem as participation is the cornerstone of the sports industry.

In the recent Roger Mitchell Sport shouldn’t fight a battle it can’t win. ( substack.com ) article extolling the virtues of participation, pondered in his own ‘personal epiphany’…

“Wouldn’t it be better to invest in the one thing we know always fosters fan passion for a lifetime? By getting them to actually participate in a sport and feel direct connection/ownership. “

The single happiest sporting occasion in my life was playing cricket with both my daughter and son in the same match v my brother’s team.? We regularly watch men’s and women’s cricket - with participation as a bedrock.? The photo is a Fathers and Sons match - and I caught and bowled my Dad.? I’m proud to say that I managed to change the Fathers and Sons game when I captained the Dads - to become a Parents and Sons match.??

A further aside - I? recently got a Cameo birthday video from Allan Lamb - my childhood hero - saying good luck in the upcoming season for the Dulwich Sledgers cricket team.??

I’ve spent ￡10,000s on cricket up and down the country with family and friends - and continue to invest in the grass roots (with an ambition of playing for England over 70s).? That’s lifetime value - grounded in participation.

These moments of magic have participation at their core - but connect back to the professional and commercial parts of the game.

Why has participation been forgotten?

• There is no easy money in the participation base of the pyramid - the money was (and still is) in fans watching and buying stuff - not actually getting people to do stuff.
• The strategy to align with participation is deemed too long term - which doesn’t appeal to most ownership structures or commercial teams.?
• The fan/consumer product wasn’t created that made the continued nurturing of these passionate participants worthwhile.

I’d add though - that these commercial decisions were made before fan data became a significant asset and currency.? Nevertheless, a meaningful connection with the more ‘lifetime’ lucrative participant has long since parted.

It’s always easier to write these ponderings focusing solely on issues - rather than coming up with solutions, and I want to address this with a solution.? A solution that can be led by women’s sport. (As a former Trustee of Women in Sport - it’s an area I am passionate about).

Women’s sport can and should learn from the mistakes of men’s sport.? Nothing like learning from other people’s mistakes.

Is it possible to generate a utopian flywheel?? A sustainable solution for teams, leagues and players to care about and fuel future participation.?

Whereby female sports stars, en masse, commit with some regularity, to connect with their former local clubs and schools.? With the support of their club.? Both physical and digital connections.??

Female sport’s stars have a closer proximity in years between the amateur era, their grass roots and their new professional homes.? Although this is changing rapidly with the important development of academies - hence the urgency.

• 2009 - Women’s hockey started centralised professional contracts?
• 2013 NWSL announced all players would be paid professionals (USA)
• 2014 - ECB introduced the first professional contracts (18 top players)
• 2017 - Australian Netball became fully professional & semi-professional in the UK
• 2018 WSL was mandated to be full-time professional

A recalibration of what it means to be a professional (what is ‘professionalism?) is central to this.?

Male footballers, for example, get much derided for their approach to ‘professionalism’.? Can female professionals be educated about the benefits of maintaining grass roots connections as part of what professionalism means?? This is a cultural issue and complex for sure.

Important context came from Maggie Murphy , CEO of Lewes FC who commented “Motivations and incentives will likely spare a bit of debate here.? People love thinking that players will want to ‘give back’, rather than be motivated by their own personal growth or security.? But isn’t fair to lay that on all women.’

Two ways to approach this could be:

1. The more people they connect with = more tickets sold = more revenue = more funds for playing budgets (salaries).
2. The benefits for the stars (beyond ‘doing good’) is in developing skills outside of playing (presenting, social media, marketing, coaching, teaching) are wide ranging - so perhaps it’s more likely for players nearing the end of their careers to see the necessity than the 18 year olds.?

If this isn’t acted upon soon - we run a very real danger of sleepwalking into the same divide that exists across men’s sport.

In 2020, UEFA developed a partnership with 华特迪士尼公司 to launch the Playmakers programme, which uses their world-renowned storytelling to encourage more young girls into regular exercise and a lifelong love of football.? The England men’s cricket World Cup winning team in 2019 did the same..

It’s not a new concept - but it’s not done consistently, in a coordinated fashion. These often follow rare moments of national glory

At it’s best:

• Athletes would want to help - seeing benefits to dual career potential & career transition
• Connections between the stars and everyday participants would be consistent with a feedback loop - in person as well as on social
• Participation would be celebrated and grow in anticipation

And the commercial and fan engagement logic would develop with:

• Deeper fan personalisation - knowledge of favourite players
• Lifetime value: from participation to the stands
• Relatable influencers would join in to extend the connection beyond the super athlete
• Brand partnerships - it’s storytelling gold dust (with data)
• And possibly - the creation of new products based on strong digital foundations

A fascinating aside on the development of players as influencers comes from Carolyn Tisch Blodgett - Governor of Gotham FC (winners of recent National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) who is harnessing her Peloton leadership and marketing experience where the personal trainers are social media superstars.? This enables the stars to take visibility (or lack of it) more into their own hands.? 16% of sports broadcast coverage in the UK is women’s sport.? Eurovision Sport (part of EBU) are paving the way with their 50/50 Gender Balanced D2C platform.

This can become a flywheel of authentic connection and impact.? It can happen in tennis, football, netball, golf, athletics - any sport.? A celebration.? A Celebration Day perhaps - across multiple sports.

An Unofficial Partner sport debate led by Richard Gillis recently discussed the merits of players coming together to deepen connections with fans. ? This was met with some derision - as a gimmick (‘what do the players know’). ? And I wholeheartedly disagree.? You have to get player’s buy in.? The fans need to know the players - so having their name on the back is one small but important part of the jigsaw.

Broadcasters can play a role.? Look at the highly successful model at the London Marathon or Great North Run where the elites are covered alongside the everyday heroes with fascinating stories to tell.? A model where broadcasters promote participation in a similar campaign mould to ‘Kick it out’ is possible.

Technology is critical however and is better placed than ever to fuel this flywheel and capture the participation data.??

Realistically it will be fan data and the potential commercial upside that needs to lead this opportunity - as it’s unlikely to be the ‘greater good’.

The opportunity is there - it involves the stars and communities; it includes data and new commercial potential.? And it’s centred around PARTICIPATION

Final words from Industry Sage - Roger Mitchell

“We now all need to think differently. Maybe the “something” we need to do isn’t about changing the core of the product. and its authenticity, to net some fresh fish.? Maybe it’s in getting kids off their screen and onto a field of play. To actually participate.”

Sam Middlehurst Michael Broughton Craig Dews Belinda Moore Sarah Massey Tony Singh Stephanie Hilborne Beth Barrett-Wild Ben Wells Laura Turkington Louise Hyland Ben Martin Hugh Brasher Paul Foster

Steph Harries Rachel Knight Clive Reeves Eloy Mazon Claire Kelly Amanda Blanc Giles Morgan Nikki Doucet Kate Bosomworth Juliet Slot Peter Hutton

#participation #sport #fanengagement