UK women’s football needs ‘strategic’ investor to sustain growth

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Minimum salaries, a dedicated broadcast slot and “stringent” financial regulations are all needed to foster long-term sustainability in professional women’s football in the UK, according to an independent review published on Thursday.

The sweeping study, led by former England player Karen Carney, welcomed the growth in the popularity of domestic women’s football, especially since England’s victory in Euro 2022, but acknowledged that the sport was a long way from being self-sufficient.

“The women’s game still finds itself in a start-up phase and financially vulnerable position, with cost bases and salaries fast outgrowing revenues,” the review found. “Clubs are therefore continuing to rely on financial injections from owners, which have no protection or guarantee.”

Among a long list of policy proposals, the review called on the Football Association, the sport’s governing body, to explore partnering with a “strategic” investor that could help shoulder the short-term costs of developing the women’s game.

Carney told the Financial Times the current situation presented a good opportunity for those willing to commit money to help accelerate development.

“I really do think there can be a return on investment,” she said. “Women’s football needs an injection of cash because we need minimum standards in order to improve the product, the fan experience and the broadcast experience. But I think you can make it back.”

One long-term goal should be the introduction of a salary “floor” in order to lay out a clear and viable career path for aspiring professional footballers. Both the US and Australian’s women’s leagues already mandate a minimum salary.

In 2022, the average annual salary in the Women’s Super League — England’s top tier — was between £25,000 and £27,000, but in the second-tier Championship wages fell to as little as £4,000 a year. The average Premier League player earns more than £3mn a year.

Carney’s review also recommended the creation of a dedicated broadcast slot for live women’s matches, after contributors complained that watching women’s was “patchy” and “inconvenient”.

The review said the “obvious gap” was 3pm on Saturday, when most professional men’s games kick off, but none is screened because of an enforced media blackout.

“Broadcast revenue is central to the development of a sustainable business model for all sports, and women’s football is no different. This is a central part of the virtuous circle of investment, and it is therefore important that we get it right,” the report said.

The challenges around broadcast were highlighted by the stand-off between Fifa, world football’s governing body, and leading broadcasters in Europe over the rights to show the Women’s World Cup, which begins next week in Australia and New Zealand.

At one point, Fifa threatened not to screen the tournament in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy after receiving “very disappointing” bids for the broadcast rights. A deal was later struck following a request by the five countries’ sports ministers.

The review also called for “stringent financial regulations” so investors had confidence that “money going into the game won’t be wasted”. Accounting rules that offered clarity on clubs’ funding would be essential to “support strategic business planning and assess growth and performance”.

However, the study said women’s football should be free to regulate itself for now, rather than come under the new independent body due to be introduced to govern the men’s game.

The FA said it shared Carney’s “vision of creating world-leading standards”, and that it would work with all stakeholders to “address the challenges and opportunities outlined in the report”.