Why brands should embrace the blossoming women’s game

By Juli Ferré Nadal

Sitting with my two daughters in a crowd of 72,262 to watch FC Barcelona Femeni take on Chelsea FC Women at the end of April felt very special.?

This was not only because we were able to witness an extremely talented Barca team make it through to the final of the UEFA Women’s Champions league for the third successive season.

It was about something much bigger than one result, achieved by one outstanding team.?

The atmosphere at Camp Nou, populated by many family outings just like mine, was breath-taking and completely unimaginable when considering the standing of women’s football only a few years ago.

But even despite the huge crowds we are now seeing for the biggest games across Europe, I believe the joyous success story of women’s football has only just begun.?

UEFA’s report, The Business Case for Women’s Football, revealed last year that women’s football continues to attract an audience that is “more down to earth, family-oriented and progressive” than that in the men’s game.

The report, which predicted that the sport could reach a commercial value of €686 million by 2033, was issued after a UEFA Women's EURO tournament in which Generation Z supporters aged between nine and 25 years old bought around a third of all match tickets.

As a new proposition, containing wholly different values, experiences and fan demographics, there’s a major opportunity here for brands to associate themselves with a fresh audience of fans.

There’s also never been a better time to get on board with this new generation of athletes.

Progress

At Tally Technology, we have a track record of success in fan engagement around women’s football. Last summer, we created a predictions game platform for fans during the CONCACAF W Championship in Mexico, where players could keep track of their progress on the leaderboard displayed inside arenas and on in-stadium screens, as well as through the official broadcast using the XML feed provided by Tally.

In delivering this solution, we gained key insights into how we can best create a continuous fan engagement platform that takes advantage of the unique position that women’s football currently finds itself in.

Crucially, from a brand and sponsorship perspective, leading players and teams have fantastic stories to tell. While the finest players might have social media followings with one zero less than their male counterparts, the inherent advantage here is accessibility.

Activations can involve far more direct dialogue with players which can lead to exciting new opportunities to engage with the fan community. Add in the fact that the costs involved are significantly lower and the value proposition for brands is considerable.

With the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicking off next month, the sport’s major stars will once again be in the spotlight as the next generation of fans enjoy the action both in person in Australia and New Zealand and on screens across the planet. Two years later, it has been announced that Switzerland will host UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, bringing excitement to the very heart of Europe. Both tournaments areIt’s set to be a fantastic competitions and it will be fascinating to see which brands embrace the opportunities it brings.