The stats and facts are undeniable: the popularity of women’s football has reached an all-time high. In the Women’s Super League (WSL), attendances has more than tripled within the last three seasons alone. The number of registered ladies’ teams at grassroots level has doubled since 2017, while the number of people searching for ‘Women’s Champions League’ in Google is also higher than it has ever been.
Unsurprisingly, plenty with an interest in football want a slice of the pie; not least UEFA and a handful of UK broadcasters, who will – combined – pump an extraordinary £900 million into women’s football over the next six years.
$1 Billion Commitment
For women’s football to grow, particularly in the European jurisdiction, it needs UEFA on board. Good news: the governing body has promised to invest $1 billion (£830 million) into women’s football over the course of the next six years. UEFA has affirmed its commitment to making Europe the ‘home of the world’s top players’, with the mammoth investment – drawn from competition revenues and external capital – handed to league organisers and national football associations in a bid to make that aim a reality.
‘Unstoppable’
The six-year plan has been given the working title of Unstoppable, with the ultimate ambition of making football the ‘most-played team sport for women and girls in every European country.’ To facilitate that, UEFA plans to create pathways for players, coaches and even referees to reach the top echelons of the sport, with significant investment also expected to be made into the grassroots game.
The governing body’s managing director of women’s football, Nadine Kessler, believes that the sport has ‘never been in a better place’. She said,
National teams and clubs are excelling thanks to enormous investments, improved competition structures and thousands of emerging professional playing opportunities.
It is our promise to keep investing and collectively lead the game forward, with all European national associations, leagues, clubs, players, fans and partners part of our journey.
Watch and Learn
It’s been well documented that the chance of a youngster taking up a sport for the first time is increased significantly if they can see it with their own eyes. Record attendances in the WSL bodes well for the future of women’s football at the junior level; as does a major new broadcasting agreement.
Sky Sports and the BBC have joined forces to agree terms on a deal that will see them broadcast WSL games for the next five seasons. As part of the agreement, every single game in the Women’s Super League will be available for armchair fans to watch during the 2025/26 season.
Broadcasters Give More Exposure
The fee is thought to be £65 million over the course of the five-year term, which is a considerable increase on the current deal – that pays around £8 million per season. Sky Sports have fronted up much of the cash, so they will be given a package of 118 live games in all – 78 of which will be exclusive to the broadcaster. When the fixtures are revealed for the next WSL season, Sky will also have 75% of ‘first choice’ picks.
The BBC, meanwhile, will show up to 21 live games per season on one of its channels, with 14 of those exclusive to the free-to-air network. And the good news for fans of teams that tend to get overlooked by the broadcasters is that they can still watch their heroes play live, with the WSL penning a separate streaming deal for non-TV games with YouTube.
Highlights on Social Media Channels
In a unique move designed to enhance the profile of WSL players, they will be allowed to share highlights of their performances – edited from the live broadcast – on their own social media channels. It’s thought that this is a first in professional sport, with such content usually closely protected by the rights holders.
This is the first media rights deal secured by Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), the new holding company that controls the commercial interests of the WSL and Women’s Championship, having taken over the management of the sport from the FA.
The fee charged is headline-making, but it’s the length of the new broadcast deal – five years – that indicates the long-term commitment of Sky Sports and the BBC in growing women’s football. And given that stats published earlier – and the knowledge that the WSL recorded record profits in 2023/24, you can see why these media outlets are so keen to partner with one of the fastest growing sports on the planet.
Women’s Champions League Format Set for Major Change
In the men’s Champions League, UEFA has done away with its traditional group stage format in favour of a new league system, which is designed to ensure that the big clubs play more games in the competition – and, thus, make more money.
It’s a shift that hasn’t gone down with universal popularity, although there’s no suggestion that the governing body will revert back to the old format any time soon.
Qualifiers Increase to 18
Now, UEFA has confirmed that the league system will also be implemented in the Women’s Champions League as of the 2025/26 campaign. The number of qualifiers will increase from 16 to 18, which each team handed six league stage fixtures against opponents selected via a random draw. The four teams that accumulate the most points will head straight into the quarter-finals, with those that finish 13th or lower in the league automatically eliminated.
Other Changes
The sides that finish fifth through to 12th will take part in a two-legged play-off tie, with the four winners of those going on to complete the quarter-final line up. That quartet will take on the top four finishers in the league phase, who are seeded. In addition to a revised Champions League, UEFA has also revealed that women’s football will have its first ‘second tier’ continental competition from 2025/26.
The equivalent of the men’s Europa League, this will have a straight knockout format; teams eliminated from the league stage of the Champions League will be spirited into the later rounds of this new competition.
