Women's soccer is exploding - Why sponsorship is a mega opportunity for brands

When Germany's women's soccer team lost the European Championship semi-final 1:0 after extra time against world champions Spain, a whopping 14.26 million people watched on ARD. That was another three and a half million more than for Germany's quarter-final victory against France and a mega market share of 57.6 percent. In the economically particularly relevant younger target group of 14 to 49-year-olds, it was even 68.5 percent.

Women's soccer continues to go from record to record. At the European Championships in Switzerland, over 620,000 enthusiastic spectators came to the stadiums - a new record for continental title matches. The growing interest is bringing more and more money into the players' coffers: Arsenal FC recently paid the equivalent of 1.15 million euros for 20-year-old Olivia Smith from Liverpool FC - a record transfer. Even if this seems like peanuts compared to the men's soccer record of 222 million euros that Champions League winners Paris St. Germain once paid for the Brazilian Neymar.

Salaries in women's soccer are also on the rise: Top German footballer Jule Brand, who previously collected around 100,000 euros at VfL Wolfsburg, is increasing her annual salary to 600,000 euros by moving to multiple Champions League winners Olympique Lyon. Sounds low for the German top earner compared to her German male counterpart Jamal Musiala (25 million euros at Bayern Munich) and even more so compared to the annual earnings of world star Cristiano Ronaldo (around 250 million euros).

"The average salary of a women's soccer player in the Bundesliga last season was just under 4,000 euros gross, compared to around 245,000 euros for men," says Jessica Stommel, Head of Women's Soccer at Sportfive, in an interview with ISPO.com, citing another exciting comparative figure. Of course, this will not equalize 1:1 in the coming years, but the potential is "gigantic" - not only for the women's soccer scene itself, but above all for brands that are involved in the new boom sport.

Nielsen predicts in a report with the telling title "Undervalued to Unstoppable", Nielsen predicts that the global fanbase for women's soccer will increase by 38% to over 800 million people by 2030. This not only makes women's football one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Women's soccer could thus become one of the top 5 biggest sports in the world and challenge sports such as Formula 1 or tennis. "For brands looking for relevance, impact and long-term value, this is the time to get involved," writes Samantha Lamberti, Head of International Sports at Nielsen.

That's exactly how Jessica Stommel sees it. Just under a year ago Sportfive, one of the world's largest sports rights marketers, founded its own women's soccer hub. The reason? "Women's soccer appeals to a whole new target group in sports sponsorship," says Stommel. Namely predominantly women - 60 percent of the 800 million fans predicted by Nielsen by 2030 are expected to be female.

This is particularly exciting for brands because, according to studies, "80 percent of purchasing decisions are made by women" (Stommel). The target group reached by women's soccer is more female, younger and mainly has a family. This is also interesting for companies because women, at least in the western world, are now mostly completely economically independent.

Women's soccer offers brands the opportunity for perfect positioning. "It's the combination of social relevance, economic opportunity and emotional appeal," says Stommel. This strikes a chord with the times, as McKinsey confirms in its "State of Marketing" report confirms. "In times of instability and change, branding and authenticity are more than ever the cornerstone of successful marketing. Consistent and transparent action is more important to consumer groups than public commitments by companies. Only then do they perceive a brand as authentic," it says. Around half of consumers demand "attitude" from brands.

According to Stommel, getting involved in women's soccer is not just a way to buy an advertising package, "but to help drive social change: That is incredibly important for brands in this day and age." Sportfive now has 17 full-time employees working in women's soccer. The marketer currently supports three clubs in the women's Bundesliga.

But also the women's divisions of major men's soccer clubs such as Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04, which are currently still playing in the lower divisions. The derbies between the two clubs in the women's fourth division (!) and in the Westphalia Cup were broadcast live and free of charge via the Sky live stream - which also shows the special opportunities for brands in women's soccer. It doesn't necessarily have to be the Bundesliga - it's much more about the stories that can be told.

More and more brands are recognizing this and positioning themselves as "early adapters" with the "first mover advantage" in this booming sector. In the case of Borussia Dortmund's women's soccer team, for example, sponsorship income has quadrupled in two years. Although the BVB women will remain in the lower reaches of the third-tier Regionalliga West following their recent promotion, they are already among the top 10 in terms of global advertising revenue.

The barriers to entry for new sponsors and brands are (still) relatively low, at least in terms of price, and the potential marketing return is high. "According to international studies, you get seven dollars back for every dollar invested," says Stommel. Disadvantage: In contrast to men's soccer, the women's version still has to be explained to consumers through good storytelling. "For brands, women's soccer is not primarily about KPIs, but has to be explained in terms of content. As a brand, you can focus on important topics such as sustainability, equality, authenticity, fair play and respect," says Stommel.

Brands also have the opportunity to help shape a rapidly growing market - sales in women's soccer could increase by 300% by 2030. "As a brand, you can still make a real contribution to development here," says Stommel: "You still have a largely empty playing field in front of you." But one with a gigantic audience.

Want to find out more about sports sponsorship? SPORT BRAND MEDIA will give you the chance to do so during ISPO 2025 from 30 NOV. - 02. DEZ. in Munich. Last year, ISPO and the ESB Marketing Network opened a new chapter together. Influential brands, pioneering sports organizations and leading media experts will come together to shape the future of sport. Sponsorship, media rights, major events, athletes and new technologies form the thematic cornerstones of the industry summit.