Why England's EURO campaign will change Women's football in this Country.

If you were to mention England winning 4-0 in a European Semi-final against one of the tournament favourites, in any context, 10 years ago… people would think you’d gone mad. But with this talented group of players gelled together by an international footballing icon in Sarina Wiegman, that is exactly what happens.

Coming into the team September 1st last year, Wiegman has created a bond in the squad with a free flowing, creative philosophy, rubbing off a positive message to the rest of the country that women’s football is only on the rise.

“From the beginning, there was a click,” Wiegman said. “You can tell. That is hard work, too. I don’t take things for granted but you feel the energy that people believe in how we work and want to play.” - The Athletic

With such a huge night at Bramall Lane, the question does beckon that could this not have been seen at the Etihad? Old Trafford? Or even Tottenham Hotspur Stadium… where a much larger capacity could have been filled? With tickets sold for as low as ￡15… but some reports of fans reselling for as high as ￡500, the demand was clearly there for a larger attendance. Another comparison demonstrates that 64,950 attended Wembley for the men’s EURO semi-final, whilst Bramall Lane saw around 30,000 in attendance. The BBC recorded 9.3 million viewers of the event, making it among the most-watched television broadcasts of the year.

This all paints a picture of consistent growth in popularity of the women’s game, at a time where it should be celebrated for the excitement it brings. The future's looking good, with records being broken season in season out for all parts of the game. In addition Chelsea finishing runners-up in the WUCL last year to a team widely regarded as one of the best in the world in FC Barcelona, others including Lyon.

Altogether, the statistics are looking less damaging than some of the media coverage seen previously. An example being in 2017, where the Sun published an article that mentioned ‘Combined pay of those in top seven women’s football leagues equals that of a single male footballer, Neymar’. In 2022, some players in the WSL are still on as little as ￡20,000 per year. This is in stark contrast to the wages paid to stars at a top side in England two decades ago prior to teams becoming professional outfits. It is reported some players earned JUST ￡100 per game and would boost their earnings with full-time jobs outside of the sport.

Moving forward, we are seeing more money being invested through the women’s game, including TV rights deals, sponsorship's and a lot of player brand deals that will go towards their image rights. Overall, from a business perspective, women’s football in England is arguably one of the most attractive prospects within the sports industry. Unfortunately in this age, money is the route to the vast majority of opportunity, yet with a much larger scope of investment in women's football, this will certainly help provide a lot more opportunity for clubs and players to cement their talent and succeed in a sport that is constantly progressing. Compared to the Premier League financial deals, the WSL is likely to see a lot more investment in the future… How will this translate to player wages/ investments?

Ben Watson

Head Associate for Sport