The Lionesses are poised to increase their sponsorship value tenfold after their win on Sunday, PR experts have predicted, with individual players likely to secure lucrative brand deals and endorsements worth millions of pounds.
But there were calls on Monday to ensure the inevitable surge in interest and funding also trickles down to the grassroots level, including ensuring women’s teams do not continue to be saddled with unsociable hours at pitches or remote locations with poor access to public transport.
A record 17 million viewers watched England’s 2-1 win over Germany, making it the most-watched women’s football match in British television history and the most-watched televised event of the year. A further 87,192 fans saw them live at Wembley Stadium.
James Herring, consumer branding and PR expert and co-founder of agency Taylor Herring, said these numbers matter. “If you’re a big brand and you’re thinking of investing millions in sports sponsorship, you need to know that you’re going to get a return on your investment from wandering around seats and watching matches and this tournament has done that … They’ve smashed it. It was brilliant,” he said.
The squad will reportedly receive a bonus of £55,000 each, totaling £1.3m, for winning the tournament under a deal with the Football Association (FA). This is in addition to the reported £2,000 per match fee.
Brands have already flocked to the team, with right-back Lucy Bronze inking deals with Pepsi and Visa, for example, but this is expected to be just the beginning. “I think the sponsorship values for the Lionesses will increase tenfold from what they can expect to be banked from commercial values,” Herring said.
He estimates that the value of team sponsorships will now reach hundreds of millions of pounds, while individual players can expect to net deals worth millions.
“The people who stood out in this tournament will be the first point of contact for the brands; from the goalscorers, the game-changers in those key games and those who have something about them in their own personality.’
Mark Borkowski, a PR consultant and author, agreed that in terms of their authenticity, the leading players on the team are worth millions. “The team is very powerful and we are under no illusion that we will celebrate this as we celebrate the 1966 World Cup victory,” he said.
David Alexander, founder and managing director of sports PR agency Calacus, said many brands had been slow to support in general and would be looking to catch up.
“England women’s football has been on a positive trajectory over the past few years, particularly with new sponsorship and broadcasting deals investing significantly in the game,” he said. “We hope this will have an impact on endorsements and player contracts that show professional players are approaching the incomes men have enjoyed for decades.”
For Yvonne Harrison, chief executive of Women in Football, it is crucial that the grassroots teams that support women’s football also benefit financially. “We’re not going to get the depth in terms of Championship players and Super League players without having a growing base at the bottom,” she said.
Louise McGing, spokeswoman for AFC Leyton, who in 2021 was a finalist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero award, agrees. “Brands need to create their own market by investing in the next generation of elite footballers at grassroots level,” she said.
“It means not obsessing over ROI [return on investment] and ticket numbers and attendances, but looking at the long game and the bigger picture around what this could mean for football, their legacy and their own brand.’
Sofia Axelsson, AFC Wimbledon Women’s General Manager, added that the sustainability of these sponsorships and partnerships is vital to ensure the sport is as accessible as possible.
She said: “For us to grow women’s football in England, this money cannot stay at the top. There will be a continued lack of diversity and inclusion if the money just stays in these top teams.”
The biggest financial hurdle is finding affordable places to play and practice, Axelsson added. That problem is particularly acute in big cities and urban areas, where the long-standing men’s team takes precedence, McGing added, with women’s teams often offering hard-to-reach grounds or slots at unsociable hours.
Harrison hopes the change at the top will be felt at the bottom. She said: “The women’s football community seems quite unique in wanting everyone to benefit and everyone to grow. It doesn’t look like an elite sport that’s for the few.”
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As for individual players with soaring profiles, the women’s game has an opportunity to avoid the pitfalls seen in the men’s, said Doug Reid, general manager of Player4Player, an organization founded by former international and Premier League players to mentor and empower football players.
“We see it in the men’s game. “So many players have great careers and make great money, but then, because of bad advice, they end their careers and have nothing to show for it,” he said.
Reid hopes to see the strong community spirit in women’s football maintained and expanded so that players are supported throughout their careers and not treated as disposable once the spotlight has moved on.
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