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Women's Football : A New Frontier for Sponsors
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Could women’s football be the next goldmine for brands ? Once overlooked by sponsors, the sport is now experiencing unprecedented investment. With surging audiences, rising global icons, and growing media coverage, sponsorship is becoming a strategic lever to accelerate its development.
In this Insight:
Spectacular Audience Growth
Since the inaugural Women’s World Cup in China in 1991, the sport has made tremendous strides. In 2015, the Canada-hosted tournament drew over 750 million viewers. Just eight years later, the 2023 edition in Australia and New Zealand attracted nearly 2 billion.
This audience boom is largely due to the emergence of iconic figures in women's soccer such as Alexia Putellas, Megan Rapinoe, Wendie Renard and Alexandra Popp. These stars appeal not only to fans but also to brands seeking high-impact visibility.
One of the earliest forms of major sponsorship was naming rights, where brands aligned themselves with league titles.
Arkema Première Ligue (France)
Barclays Women's Super League (England)
Google Pixel Frauen Bundesliga (Germany)
Liberty A-League (Australia, formerly Ninja A-League)
In 2022, Arkema extended its contract with the French Football Federation (FFF) for three seasons, injecting 1.2 million euros per season, redistributed to the 12 championship clubs. In 2025, Arkema renewed its commitment until 2028. In England, Barclays renewed its commitment at the end of 2021 for an estimated 35 million euros until 2025.
Clubs & Championships
In addition to championships, clubs also attract brands. In France, there were 133 active sponsors in women's football in 2025, including Nike, Betclic and Crédit Agricole. However, this figure is still well below that of Germany, which has 415 sponsors, despite a league that is still semi-professional.
Unsurprisingly, the most visible clubs are also the most attractive to sponsors...OL Lyonnes and Paris Saint-Germain in France, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain, and Arsenal and Chelsea in England.
A Turning Point
Long cautious, brands began to change their stance in the early 2020s. In 2021, Point.P became one of the first major groups to make a public commitment to French women's football. In the same year, Visa became the first FIFA global partner dedicated to women's soccer, marking a major symbolic and commercial turning point.
The approach of the 2023 World Cup, with its record crowds, has also motivated many companies to take the plunge, looking to capitalize on the media momentum.
Profitability, Strategy & Driving Sectors
Sponsoring women’s football is now a multi-sector strategy, backed by long-term institutional support.
Brands from the engineering, financial services, tech, food and sports sectors are becoming increasingly involved. Alongside Nike, Adidas, Puma and Hummel, non-sporting companies such as Google Pixel, EA Sports, CaixaBank, Allianz, Audi, McDonald's and Coca-Cola are betting on this fast-growing discipline.
This diversity illustrates the transformation of women's football into a global marketing product, capable of reaching different market segments and audiences.
Aware of this potential, the major auhtorities want to go even further. Like FIFA, UEFA has launched an ambitious strategy with the "Unstoppable" plan, which aims to:
Further professionalize competitions
Increase access to football for young girls
Make women's soccer the most followed women's team sport in the world by 2030
To achieve this, the federations are seeking to build a profitable and stable ecosystem, attracting sponsors on the long term and offering brands constant visibility and a positive image association.
Women's football is now building its business model, attracting the investments of tomorrow.
Potential For More Progress
Women's football has turned a corner, becoming a marketing product with great potential. While some countries and clubs are already reaping the benefits, others are still lagging. The challenge now is to transform the occasional interest shown by brands into lasting commitments, to ensure the sustainability of women's soccer and build a solid industry around it.
