£1bn Womens Sport Revenue by 2030, Needs Grassroot Investment Now.
Sport and physical activity contributes £39 billion to the UK's economy says SportEngland.
According to a new study released by the Womens Sport Trust last month, revenue in UK women’s sport will reach £1bn by 2030, nearly triple the annual UK£350 million (US$488 million).
By comparison, in 18/19 the 92 Premier League and Football League clubs generated a record £6.2 billion in revenue (Deloitte) and England Rugby (RFU) £213m
The Womens Sport Trust report suggested the key to achieving revenue forecast will be increased visibility.
Visibility is probably the most commonly touted factors to growing women sport in the UK.
The next generation cannot be it if they cannot see it. But it is also true that commercial partners will not sell it if not enough of the nation actually wants to see it.
Although the likes of Guinness, Wikipedia, BBC, Sky to name a few are innovating female media coverage simply showing more women’s sport alone is unlikely to change women’s sport significantly.
Unfortunately, a great media buy or engaging creative assets will not create new large demand. There must also be a brand promise of solving a relatable consumer ask. Solve in scalable ways your consumer needs and demand will grow in volumes.
In a Deloitte article published in Dec ’20 they say women’s sports’ ability to “generate substantial TV audiences, deliver value to sponsors, and draw tens of thousands of fans per event has been demonstrated on multiple occasions”.
A multi-country fan interest survey in the same article found that 66% of people were interested in at least one women’s sport, and among ‘Sports Fans’ (of whom 49% are female), that figure rises to 84%.
Demand creation is nothing unless there is also access to the product - otherwise thanks to multitude of dedicated F1 media channels we’d all be race drivers right? Of course not, because there are still insurmountable barriers to entry in that sport.
Inspiration or motivation gained from seeing our amazing female athletes is just one step on the journey to changed behaviour which also needs the means and the access to take part.
This brings about the question of whose job is it anyway? In short, everyone’s.
In reality, it is difficult balance between sponsors and governing bodies as to where the investment mix goes - in grassroots programs that remove barriers to mass participation and create talent pathways, or ensuring visible elite level success with no expense spared coaching, training and competition environments.
As quoted from SportsPro pod, Dr Challoners’ Grammar School sports director declares “If you look after the masses, the trophies will look after themselves.”
Commercial growth is one piece of the puzzle, and perhaps must come first to be able to attract investors to do the more pressing job of getting more women (especially young and from Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic backgrounds) more regularly involved in sport.
Whilst elite sport rightly needs the spotlight to inspire further, where will these inspired girls take their ambition?
