Elite women’s sport expected to see substantial growth in 2025
Women’s sport is on the rise, and with it, a commercial interest of its sports and athletes that has never been greater.
2024 was historic for women’s sport. Global revenue for elite women’s sport surpassed £1bn for the first time, according to a recent Deloitte report. The report predicts at least £1.88bn in broadcast, matchday and commercial revenue in 2025.
The gains for 2025 are expected to be substantial. Commercial income is anticipated to generate the largest amount in revenue (54%), followed by broadcast (25%) and matchday (21%) revenues.
Jennifer Haskel, knowledge and insight lead in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, said: “Women’s sport is rewriting the playbook and challenging traditional norms to redefine the future of the industry.”
Women’s Sports in 2024
Increased fan and commercial interest, representation, and steps towards levelling the playing field for female athletes meant that in 2024, women’s sport was able to captivate audiences on a global stage.
In late 2024, UEFA launched ‘Unstoppable’, a six-year strategy to elevate the women’s game. It commits to increasing the number of fully professional leagues, while aiming to make football the most played team sport among women and girls in each European country.
Olympics Games Paris 2024 were the first Games with equal representation for both male and female athletes on the field of play.
There was a surge in interest in female athletes. SportsPro found that while only 43% of Olympic news coverage consisted of female athletes, they produced 53% of total engagement across social content.
North America and Europe remain the largest revenue-generating hubs for 2024, but the market for women’s sport continues to grow.
New research from football media company Footballco revealed a growing interest in opportunities for women’s football in Saudi Arabia. Data collected from more than 1,000 women’s sport fans in the country showed that 61% follow the sport. This is far greater than the 47% global average.
Andy Jackson, SVP Middle East at Footballco, said: “What’s clear is that Saudi women’s football isn’t an opportunity for brands in the future, it’s now.”
Barriers still to overcome
Despite its growth, a FIFA report into women’s football published last month demonstrated the financial disparity in sponsorship and wages between genders.
Within the teams FIFA concluded were in the top tier, the average annual salary was around £18,500. The highest rose to £93,000. Only four women’s domestic leagues were found to have title sponsorships worth more than £770,000.
Even in the top-tier WSL in 2024, the average annual salary was £47,000, according to Hana Football. William Hill found that the current average weekly wage of a Premier League footballer is around £67,000. This equates to more than £3m a year.
Discrepancy not only lies in how they are paid, but how both sports are publicly received.
Satirical commentary on the highlights of Chelsea’s 2-1 victory against Manchester City in the Women’s League Cup recently went viral on TikTok.
“Women’s football should never be taken seriously, it should be categorised as a comedy show,” one user commented. Another top-liked comment said: “The pay gap [compared to the men’s game] should be bigger.”
Serena Williams, appearing on Young America’s Foundation, mentioned that men’s and women’s sports were different.
Joking that she would not want to face Andy Murray in a tennis match, she said: “For me, men’s tennis and women’s tennis are almost completely different sports.
“The men are a lot faster, and they serve harder, they hit hard. It’s just a different game.”
For her and many others, the women’s game is not attempting to replicate the men’s. Therefore, both should be regarded independently.
The next chapter in women’s sport
The growth of streaming services in sport indicates how women’s sport might transform over the next few years.
The new WNBA media rights agreement is estimated to be worth around £1.6bn ($2.2bn) over 11 years. The rights will be shared across NBCUniversal, Disney (ESPN) and Amazon.
Recently, FIFA announced a deal with Netflix to show live coverage of the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups in the United States.
Netflix have taken initial steps into broadcasting live sport. This includes a boxing fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. As well as two NFL matches last Christmas, as part of a three-year deal to broadcast Christmas Day fixtures.
The 2023 World Cup, shown on the BBC and ITV, brought in a peak audience of 12 million viewers, who watched Spain win against England in the final.
With an estimated 300 million subscribers worldwide in 2024, one can only speculate what the final audience figures in 2027 and 2031 will amount to.
The market for women’s sport has grown over the last few years. Alongside it, the options of where it can be platformed and the scope to reach new audiences have expanded. The focus now shifts beyond its potential and towards elevating its success.
