Women’s soccer is going from strength to strength. You only have to look across the pond to the UK to see the strides the game is making. This year, for example, both Sky Sports and the BBC announced a million-dollar sponsorship deal that will reward the Women's Super League with much-needed funding.
Still, there’s a long way to go before women’s soccer clubs are big enough to go toe-to-toe with the planet’s greatest sporting brands. Although it’s controversial to some, affiliating with the men’s edition of the sport appears to be the answer for many female clubs worldwide.
A lot of football clubs, male or female, rely on gate receipts to keep the coffers healthy. The problem for many women’s teams is that the stadiums are too small to keep up with the level of demand. Therefore, franchises in the US hit a glass ceiling and can’t go any farther, which means the sides plateau.
NEWS | The Washington Spirit Announce Return to Full Capacity at Audi Field and Segra Field; and Single-Game On-Sale Date.https://t.co/NvVSARkjFS
— Washington Spirit (@WashSpirit) June 9, 2021
One team that has found an answer is the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League. They usually play home games at the Maryland SoccerPlex and expect crowds of up to 5,000 people. However, the number skyrockets to around 8,000 whenever they play at Audi Field, DC United’s stadium.
The Spirit isn’t the only club to benefit from an MLS affiliation. The Portland Thorns are the league’s most successful brand and draw in average attendances of 15,000 after partnering with the Portland Timbers. The Houston Dash are attempting to double their attendances after they used the same strategy with the Houston Dynamos, which while ambitious, isn’t unrealistic if the current stats are objective.
The numbers involved in women’s soccer aren’t huge compared to their male counterparts. Regardless, teams can easily grind to a halt if there isn’t available funding for them to exploit. While strides are being made in the UK with TV deals, several clubs require more money than a share of sponsorship cash. Take Manchester City WFC in England’s FA Women's Super League.
After a relaunch in 2014, the club has moved in the right direction and is now one of the contenders for honors in the women’s game. But the side still had a debt of around $2 million that needed to be settled. When neighbors Manchester United launched their women’s side, the number they invested was estimated to be around $6 million.
Without these subsidies, a significant proportion of the sport on the women’s side will struggle. Thankfully for everyone, the football betting odds rank City as -150 favorites to win the EPL and United as +800 fourth-favorites. Quoted at +275 and +800 respectively, they're both in the running for the Champions League, too, meaning the rate of funding from male clubs shouldn’t decline in the UK. This should set a global example that lots of sides can follow in the future.
The advantages are there for everyone to see, which is why the tactic is more common now than it has been in previous years. Of course, female teams and leagues will need to deal with the negatives if they are going to thrive. Somewhere down the line, though, it should be possible for the women’s game to rival the men and potentially usurp them.
