Elite women's sports revenue to top £1.8bn in 2025 - Deloitte

Chelsea beat Manchester City to win the Women's League Cup final on Saturday

Global revenue generated by elite women's sports is predicted to exceed £1.8bn in 2025, with finance experts Deloitte stating the "commercial appeal of women's sports and its athletes has never been higher".

Last year's revenue surpassed £1bn for the first time and the latest Deloitte report is predicting at least £1.88bn in matchday, broadcast and commercial revenue in 2025.

Basketball (44%) is forecast to overtake football (35%) as the highest revenue-generating sport.

Commercial income, which includes sponsorships, partnerships, merchandising sales and pre-season tour income, is expected to represent the largest share of revenue across women's sports (54%), with broadcast revenues contributing 25% and matchday revenues providing the remaining 21%.

Jennifer Haskel, knowledge and insight lead in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, said: "The growth of women's sport has continued to exceed expectations as various competitions, leagues, clubs and athletes generate significant returns, despite limited resources.

"Women's sport is rewriting the playbook and challenging traditional norms to redefine the future of the industry."

Haskel highlighted the importance of major tournaments, like the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup, which will be held in the UK and has already sold a record number of tickets, and Women's Euro 2025, in driving the revenue increases.

She added: "Major events are increasing visibility and participation across many sports and geographies, but deliberate actions need to be taken after these big moments to drive domestic success for leagues and clubs.

"It is no longer enough to just host an event - organisers must be bold and think of new ways to engage fans and drive participation even after the champion is crowned.

"The commercial appeal of women's sports and its athletes has never been higher, as the sector continues to shine on the global stage.

"Increasing strategic investment is more important than ever to drive a professional global landscape and create an engaging industry for generations to come. It is crucial for women's sport organisations to implement the right structures, develop a clear plan for investment, and define a long-term vision for their place within a rapidly evolving global industry."

'More work to be done'

However, despite the growth, a Fifa report into women's football published on Monday underlined the financial disparity in wages and sponsorship between genders.

Key findings from Fifa's annual report into women's football - entitled Setting the Pace - emphasised the financial state of the game.

The average annual salary for a female player globally is £8,400 ($10,900), a figure which is also skewed by a small number of top clubs.

Among the teams Fifa designated as being in the top tier, which includes 41 clubs from 16 countries, the average salary was around £18,500 ($24,030), with the highest of those £93,000 ($120,000).

For clubs categorised by Fifa as being in second and third tiers, the average salaries of players were £3,357 ($4,361) and £2,160 ($2,805) respectively.

Only four women's domestic leagues have title sponsorships worth more than £770,000 ($1m).

Attendances were also highlighted as an area of concern by the report.

Arsenal hosted Manchester United in front of a Women's Super League record 60,160 fans at Emirates Stadium last year.

However, tier one teams averaged 1,713 fans, while those in tiers two and three were 480 and 380 respectively.

Arsenal were among the 23% of clubs that played some matches at a stadium other than their regular ground, playing five home league games at The Emirates and the rest at Meadow Park, which has a seating capacity of 1,700 and total capacity of 4,500.

Women are underrepresented in coaching roles, with 22% of head coaches across all tiers being women.

There is more gender equity among officials, with 42% of referees being female, ranging from 57% in tier leagues to 25% in tiers two and three.

"The strides made in recent years have been remarkable, but there is still more work to be done to unlock its full potential," Fifa president Gianni Infantino said in the report.

Fifa sent surveys to 135 leagues and 1,518 clubs, with a total of 677 clubs in 90 leagues responding

Tiers were determined by factors such as whether the league had a club licensing system and the number of a league's players who featured in the 2023 Women's World Cup.