Why 90,000 at Wembley Proves Football Isn’t Just A Man’s Game
It’s been a huge year for women’s football, particularly in the UK. Phil Neville’s Lionesses built a whole new audience, while members of the US team even took on the President!
It’s been a staggering rise as Super League teams continue to see attendances rise, while the game between England and Germany at Wembley sold out.
It’s undoubtedly a landmark year, and Wembley will make many sit up and take note of the women’s game, conclusively proving it’s far from being a man’s game.
The likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are investing more and more in their women’s team, and that will see more commercial activity taking place.
More female orientated industries will now have the opportunity to target an ever-increasing audience, just as the likes of gambling, motoring and beer has in the men’s game.
That could see the likes of online bingo, cosmetics and fashion begin to make its way into the game. Bingo is particularly an interesting one. Online gambling is a huge part of sponsorship income in the men’s game, and with the likes of Moon Bingo now hugely popular among British players, a foray into sports sponsorship could be on the horizon.
Liverpool linked with Avon just a few years ago, which was considered a landmark deal, and it is expected that more and more partners will begin to take note of the women’s game.
It’s been a long time coming, but what that will do is then bring more money into the game, offer better wages, offer the opportunity for more clubs to go full time and in turn improve the standard of the game.
That will help inspire generations and a whole new lifecycle will begin as the game continues to improve.
A full Wembley, 24,000 at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea play Spurs will inspire a new breed of players, particularly as the likes of Beth England, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton become more and more of a household name.
It will be interesting to see how the game in Britain can kick on from the World Cup. It’s the perfect start in filling Wembley, but with another major tournament not due until 2021, when the European Championships are hosted in England, the game needs to keep up the momentum.
Do that and 2021 could be even more groundbreaking. 2019 has seen the women’s game well and truly stand up in its own right. The Super League, clubs and the FA now need to put the infrastructure in terms of commercial sponsorships and investment in place to take it to the next level.
