The Future of Football is Female ⚽️
Plus: The Manchester United Paradox: No Trophies, but a Lot of Money.
Welcome to Athletic Interest.
People seem to get easily offended when it comes to female participation in sports. Just look at the comments section of any of our recent Instagram posts on women’s football…😳
The debate seems to have settled into two diametrically opposed camps. Either women are being overhyped or underrepresented. While the actual discussion, about how women’s sport can grow into a thriving industry that offers female athletes equal opportunities and representation, is being largely ignored.
Luckily, a new study is aiming to re-ignite this discussion by suggesting that women’s sport is a better investment than men’s sport…that’s a big claim, so let’s break it down.
The report, compiled by The Sports Consultancy, argues that the rapid growth in demand for women’s sports is a sign of a bright future.
In fact, a recent YouGov survey found that 44% of global sports fans (of any gender) aged between 18-24 preferred watching women’s sports over men’s. In contrast, only 16% of over 55s had the same preference.
To bring this point home, it has been predicted that women’s sports in the UK could generate over £1 billion per year by 2030. That is 300% higher than the current figure.
It cannot be denied that women’s sport is growing, but how is it a better investment than men’s sport? The Premier League alone contributes almost $10 billion to the U.K. economy each year.
Well, according to the report, there are three key reasons to choose women’s sports over the more established male market.
Men’s sport is too congested with investors competing for a return.
Future return in men’s sport is limited by lack of space in the calendar for new formats or competitions.
The current rights holder (TV companies etc) are too strong and can resist disruption from new entrants.
Men’s sport may have more money, but women’s sport is the growth industry. This point can be perfectly illustrated by looking at women’s football.
In 2018, Manchester United spent just $6 million setting up their women’s team. That is less than Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez earned in two months of playing for the men’s team.
Contrast this with the world record $3 billion that the Todd Boehly consortium spent to acquire Chelsea football club. It is clearly far cheaper to establish a team in women’s football.
With just 12 teams in the top flight - up from 8 in 2011 - there is plenty of space in English women’s football for new investors.
Thanks to this lack of top-flight competition, women’s teams play just 22 league games a season, 16 less than their male counterparts. This leaves room in the calendar for new competition formats that could help innovate the sport and attract new viewers.
We all know what happened when the men’s teams tried to add the Super League to their already packed calendar…the Champions League sends its regards.
Any new clubs or competitions in women’s football would probably prove popular. The fanbase for women’s football grew 60% between 2017 and 2019, and the Women’s European Championship - which concludes this Sunday - has already set a new record of over 250,000 spectators.
With such rapid growth in popularity, big companies are ready to invest in women’s sports.
A recent study by Nielsen found that sponsorship investment in FIFA, UEFA, and Women’s rugby rose by 146% in 2021.
Nike, famous for its sponsorship of some of the biggest teams and athletes in men’s sport, has started to direct its attention toward women’s football. While in the process of dropping the likes of Neymar and Jorginho, Nike became one of the first kit suppliers to create bespoke jerseys for 14 teams competing at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
Nike and other big corporations have shown so much faith in women’s sports because they can see the massive opportunity.
The cost of entry may be low, but with popularity rising each year, the payoff could be huge.
Sports Business Bites 🍎
🇮🇹 One of the most successful clubs in Italian football has just disappeared!
No, Juventus didn’t get caught in another scandal, they just agreed to return to the FIFA game series.
For the last three installments of the game, Juventus has been replaced by a team called “Piemonte Calcio.” The team wore the same black and white stripes and was named after the region of northern Italy that Juventus calls home.
With Juventus agreeing to return to FIFA, Piemonte Calcio will cease to exist 😥.
But why were Juventus replaced for three years?
Well, the Serie A club had a conflicting agreement with Pro Evolution Soccer makers Konami, which prevented them from appearing in any other football-related video games.
♟ Magnus Carlsen has been world chess champion since 2013 and the world’s number one player since 2011 and yet he has just announced that he will not be defending his title at the next world chess championship.
”I am not motivated to play another match,” explained Carlsen on a podcast for his sponsor Unibet. “I simply feel that I don’t have a lot to gain.”
Carlsen has previously hinted at his frustrations with the world championship format, bemoaning the lengthy games and the weeks spent competing.
Carlsen may also be looking toward his life outside of competitive chess. The Norweigan has been creating his own chess championships online and his recent venture Play Magnus is valued at around $100 million.
🏆 Manchester United are so desperate for Champions League football that they are reportedly offering new coach Erik ten Hag around €3.5 million euros if he achieves a top-four finish this up-coming season.
To put that into perspective, Carlo Ancelotti received around €1 million in bonuses last season for winning the Champions League and La Liga with Real Madrid.
Why offer such a crazy bonus? Because a lot is at stake.
According to a clause in United’s contract with Adidas, if the club spends two consecutive seasons outside of the Champions League, Adidas will reduce their yearly payment by over €25 million.
When you factor in lost prize money and other missed payments, failure to qualify for the Champions League next year could see the club lose a total of €100 million.
This will be a big season for United.
Talking of Manchester United and large amounts of money, we have you noticed something odd about the club…
The Red Devils are one of the top 5 clubs in world football that make the most money:
🥇 Manchester City (€645M)
🥈 Real Madrid (€641M)
🥉 FC Bayern Munich (€611M)
4️⃣ FC Barcelona (€582M)
5️⃣ Manchester United (€558M)
And yet, all other clubs have won their national leagues this year or not that long ago. But Manchester United’s last Premier League title was in 2013.
The fact that United makes so much money without having any current silverware is only possible because the Red Devils have mastered a strategy that only few clubs have - not forgetting a good dose of luck.
Watch our latest video where we break down the Manchester United Paradox: having no trophies, but a lot of money.