We have seen a huge rise in women’s football in recent years. However, there is a lot more work to be done if the game wants to go further, and while it may never be considered quite on par with the men’s game, which has had money, sponsorships and marketing resources pumped in for decades, the gap can certainly be closed a little more.
Women's Football
Attracting interest is key, and there are many ways to do that. Firstly, a key way to appeal to football fans is to penetrate the online betting markets.
As it currently stands, for those who opt for online betting, there are options galore for men's tournaments across sports, but especially so for football. There are some markets for women, including UEFA Women's Champions League and English FA Women's Super League 1, as well as the Women’s Euros this summer, where Spain are currently the odds-on 3/1 favourites and England are priced at 9/2 to take the crown. However, there's certainly scope for more visibility and specials, as well as inclusion for women's football outside of the UK.
Alongside betting though, what else can be done to grow the game?
Increased TV Coverage
With wider coverage, more people would see the women’s game on betting sites and be tempted to bet and watch. Of course, on top of this, the women’s game should be looking at sponsorship deals with betting companies, as these play a big part in the financial aspect of men’s football, almost every club has one.
While the end game is getting people so interested that they want to go and watch games live, the route to that goes through watching a game on TV. A huge BBC TV deal was signed in 2021, which began at the start of the current season, and that is certainly a step in the right direction.
However, compare it to the men’s game and there is still a lot of room for improvement. This is certainly something for the game to work on, even if this is done to purely attract interest, and holds no financial benefit for the teams who are involved.
In the long run, it will help and it will allow clubs to get their name into the right area, and eventually, that should lead to a rise in the number of people watching inside the ground.
Investment in the Grassroots Game
The fans of tomorrow need to come from somewhere, and the way that happens is with investment in the grassroots game. We need to see more women playing football, but of course, they need somewhere to play, and this has to be looked at and funded correctly.
What's good to see is that the bigger names in the women’s game are attracting interest from fans. Lucy Bronze, who re-joined Manchester City in 2020 is a typical example: she is at the top of her game, has won many titles in the world of football and is inspiring others to follow in her footsteps. If icons such as Lucy Bronze were celebrated and platformed, aspiring female footballers would have someone to represent them within the sport and would likely be more proactive in pursuing football professionally.
There is a lot to be said about how grassroots football assists with finding the stars of the future on the pitch. However, it also grows the game to further spectators and grabs interest that wouldn’t otherwise be there.
Women's football is a growing game and ripe with potential. With careful consideration and lots of financial support, there's every hope that the game will rise in the years to come.
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