Investing in Women’s Football: From Marginalised Sport to Growth Market

Key Takeaways:

  • Women’s football is moving into a scale phase, with the global fanbase projected to grow by 38% this decade, from around 500 million to over 800 million by 2030, indicating structurally rising demand.

  • The audience profile is commercially strong: 60% of fans are expected to be women by 2030, nearly 50% fall into top global income brackets, and around 50% are in their prime spending age.

  • Participation growth is accelerating: since 2019, female participation rose by 150% in France, 95% in Spain, 24% in the UK and by 300% in China.

  • Top leagues are converting demand into revenue growth: the WSL generated £65m in 2023/24 (+34% YoY), with average club revenue at £5.4m and all clubs surpassing £1m for the first time. Total broadcast income rose 40% to £10m.

  • Private capital inflows are scaling rapidly since 2024, following regulatory changes in the US, with at least eight NWSL teams backed by institutional investors

  • Club valuations are appreciating at venture-style rates: Washington Spirit rose from a $35m acquisition (2022) to an estimated $130m valuation. Average NWSL club valuations now stand at $134m.

  • Women’s football assets remain discounted relative to men’s leagues: average NWSL valuation multiples (8.8x revenue) remain below the NBA (11.7x), MLS (9.3x), and NFL (9x).

  • Financial development differs sharply by market: while the WSL is expanding under a professionalised licensing framework, the Dutch Vrouwen Eredivisie is contracting from 12 to 10 teams and has already seen club withdrawals due to financial unsustainability.

From Structural Exclusion to Investment Opportunity

For decades, women’s football was viewed as secondary to the men’s game, rather than as something that could stand on its own. Institutional support was limited, media exposure remained scarce and professional pathways for players were either underdeveloped or entirely absent. This historical underinvestment was not the result of a lack of demand, but rather of structural exclusion: in many countries, women were formally banned from playing football well into the second half of the twentieth century, delaying the sport’s commercial and cultural development for decades¹.

In recent years, however, this dynamic has shifted decisively. Women’s football is experiencing rapid growth across participation, viewership, sponsorship and club valuations. Rather than being driven by short-term hype, much of this momentum is being shaped by individual owners who see long-term potential in the sport. This view is perhaps best captured by Michele Kang, who is one of the most prominent owners in women’s football. Speaking to Forbes about her investments she said: “This is not charity; this is not some corporate diversity, equity and inclusion project. I’m on a mission to prove that this is good business—not just a business, but a good business.”² 

Growing Popularity: Audience Expansion and Participation Trends

The global popularity of women’s football has expanded sharply over the past decade, driven by rising participation and growing media consumption. According to Nielsen Sports, the global fanbase is projected to grow by 38% this decade, rising from around 500 million to more than 800 million fans by 2030. By that point, women are expected to make up roughly 60% of the audience, making women’s football one of the few major sports where female fans form the majority. The audience is also commercially attractive: nearly half of fans fall within the top global income brackets, around half are aged between 25-44 (prime commercial demographic) and women are expected to control 75% of household purchasing decisions by 2028. Despite this, Nielsen highlights that only a small share of global sponsorship budgets is currently allocated to women’s football, identifying a clear mismatch between audience value and commercial investment³. 

International tournaments have repeatedly acted as turning points for the women’s game. European Championships and World Cups have delivered record-breaking viewing figures, particularly among younger audiences who follow women’s football on its own terms rather than as a comparison to the men’s game. The impact of these events is evident. In Australia, the semi-final of the 2023 Women’s World Cup became the most-watched television broadcast in the country’s history¹. A similar effect was seen in the UK, where fan interest rose by 15% in the two years following the Lionesses’ UEFA EURO 2022 triumph, helping to push Women’s Super League visibility to record levels. Switzerland, which recently hosted the UEFA European Women’s Championship, has also experienced a sharp rise in interest, with its women’s football fanbase growing by 22% in 2024 alone.

Participation trends mirror this surge in audience interest. Across Europe, the number of women and girls playing football has risen sharply since 2019, with France recording growth of 150%, Spain 95%, the Netherlands 25% and the United Kingdom 24%. The pattern is even more pronounced in parts of Asia, where participation in China has increased by 300% and Vietnam by 42%³.

From American Dominance to a Global Club Landscape

For much of the modern era, the United States was the undisputed centre of women’s football. This dominance was not accidental, but the result of a unique structural pathway. The introduction of ‘Title IX’ legislation in 1972 forced schools and universities to allocate equal funding to men’s and women’s sports, creating a large, well-funded pipeline for female athletes. Football (or soccer as Americans call it), in particular, benefited from this environment. Unlike sports such as American football or baseball, it carried less of a male-dominated image, allowing it to emerge as the primary team sport for women at universities. As a result, the United States built a deep talent base long before most other countries, which later became the foundation for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2013⁴.

Meanwhile, European leagues were quietly developing. Over time, clubs in Spain, France, Germany and England began investing more aggressively, assembling squads capable of competing with the best teams in the world and attracting top international talent. The UEFA has introduced a six-year strategy, branded ‘Unstoppable’, under which it plans to invest up to €1 billion in women’s football by 2030. As part of this strategy, UEFA has set explicit targets, including making football the most played team sport for women and girls across Europe and expanding the number of fully professional women’s leagues. By 2030, the organisation aims to have six fully professional competitions and around 5,000 professional female players in Europe, up from three professional leagues and just over 3,000 professionals today. So, while the NWSL remains a global benchmark, women’s football is no longer centred on a single country⁵. 

Is Money Actually Being Made?

Alongside these geographical shifts, financial data from leading markets points to rapid revenue growth. In England, Women’s Super League (WSL) clubs generated £65 million in aggregate revenue during the 2023/24 season, representing a 34% year-on-year increase. For the first time, every WSL club surpassed £1 million in annual revenue, with average club revenue rising to £5.4 million.

Commercial income is the primary driver of growth, accounting for approximately 40% of total WSL revenue, while matchday income rose by more than 70% due to increased attendances (average attendance 7,363) and improved stadium utilisation. Broadcast revenue also increased significantly (with 40% on the previous season to £10 million), although it remains structurally underdeveloped compared to men’s football⁶.

Private Equity Entry and Valuation Dynamics

The most striking signal of women’s football’s maturation is the scale of recent capital inflows. Nowhere is this more visible than in the United States, where the NWSL has become a focal point for private equity firms and high-profile individuals. According to LGT Wealth Management, the league is responding to this demand by positioning itself for significant expansion, with discussions around doubling in size from 16 to 32 teams over time; a trajectory that took the National Football League (NFL, American football competition) more than a decade to achieve. 

Investor appetite is already reflected in entry prices. Denver Summit FC’s recent admission to the NWSL came with a record-breaking $110 million expansion fee, highlighting the high price investors are willing to pay to enter the league. 

Developments in Europe point in a similar direction, especially in England. While valuations in the WSL remain modest compared to men’s football, this relative affordability is precisely what has attracted early movers. Tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian’s £20 million investment for a 10% stake in Chelsea Women implies a £200 million valuation, roughly in line with the revenue multiples applied to many Premier League men’s clubs a decade ago. Ohanian has gone further, predicting that the club could surpass a £1 billion valuation by 2035, pointing to untapped broadcast potential in the United States and strong, already-proven demand for merchandise as key drivers of future growth.⁷ 

In the NWSL, valuation growth has been even more pronounced. Michele Kang’s acquisition of the Washington Spirit in 2022 for $35 million initially raised eyebrows in a market where clubs had historically traded for a fraction of that amount. Yet Forbes now estimates the Spirit’s value at around $130 million, and the club is far from an outlier. Angel City FC changed hands at a record valuation of $250 million, while Forbes’ most recent league-wide assessment places the average NWSL club value at $134 million, with top teams approaching or exceeding $275 million⁸.

This valuation surge has coincided with the arrival of institutional capital. Following a regulatory shift in 2024, the NWSL fundamentally changed its ownership model by allowing private equity firms to take majority control of teams, an approach that contrasts sharply with leagues such as the NBA and MLS, where private equity participation has largely been limited to small, passive stakes. NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman publicly backed the move, describing private equity as a lever to increase the league’s overall value and accelerate its next phase of growth. As of 2025, including two additional franchises set to join the league, at least eight NWSL teams now have institutional investors. 

Sixth Street was the first private equity firm to move decisively after the rule change, paying a record $53 million to launch Bay FC. For a firm with existing investments in major global sports properties, the move was positioned not as a short-term trade, but as a long-term commitment to women’s football⁹. 

At the same time, the league is still in an early phase of its financial development. Most clubs continue to operate at a loss, often posting annual deficits exceeding $10 million. However, investors appear willing to adopt a start-up mindset, prioritising revenue growth, audience expansion and media rights over near-term profitability. This strategy reflects the expectation of private equity firms that the recent growth in media rights and commercial income will persist, allowing current losses to be offset by future gains. 

Forbes notes that NWSL clubs are currently valued at an average of around 8.8 times revenue, a level that remains below valuation multiples seen in established men’s leagues such as the NBA (11.7x), Major League Soccer (9.3x) and the NFL (9x). This relative discount reinforces the perception that, even after recent appreciation, women’s football assets continue to offer comparatively accessible entry points for investors⁸. 

The Dutch Vrouwen Eredivisie: Struggling, but Not Without Potential

While leagues such as England’s WSL are expanding and professionalising, the Dutch Vrouwen Eredivisie has struggled to translate sporting potential into a stable and competitive league structure. The KNVB recently announced that the Vrouwen Eredivisie will shrink from 12 to 10 teams from the 2026/27 season, a move that stands in stark contrast to the WSL’s planned expansion to 14 teams over the same period.

While a small group of clubs, including Ajax, PSV and FC Twente, have continued to invest meaningfully in their women’s teams, many others operate at the minimum required level. A key constraint identified by The Halfway Line is the Dutch licensing framework. According to them, these criteria are far too loose to ensure a healthy amount of competition and investment in the Vrouwen Eredivisie. Clubs are only obliged to employ eight players on professional contracts and those players need only earn slightly over half of the Dutch minimum wage. As a result, the majority of players in the league continue to rely on side jobs, limiting their ability to fully commit to football.

This stands in sharp contrast to the English model. The WSL’s rapid rise has been closely linked to the introduction of strict licensing criteria in 2018, which imposed minimum spending thresholds, full-time contract requirements and facility standards. These measures forced clubs to professionalise quickly, even at the cost of short-term financial strain, but ultimately raised the league’s overall quality¹⁰.

This divergence is clearly reflected in the financials. Even the most ambitious clubs in the Dutch Vrouwen Eredivisie operate on relatively modest budgets. Ajax, for instance, are estimated to work with an annual budget of around €1.5–2 million¹¹. By contrast, leading WSL clubs operate in a different financial reality altogether. Arsenal reported revenues of approximately €18 million in 2024, with recently published figures indicating a further increase to around €25.6 million in 2025¹². 

The consequences of the Dutch approach are increasingly visible off the pitch as well. Average attendance in the Vrouwen Eredivisie stood at just 1,190 spectators in the 2023/24 season, heavily skewed by a handful of high-profile matches involving Ajax. In the WSL, this figure is almost six times higher¹⁰. 

Financial fragility has also become a recurring theme. The recent withdrawal of Fortuna Sittard from the Vrouwen Eredivisie illustrates how vulnerable many clubs remain. Despite strong sporting performances, the club concluded that continuing its women’s programme was financially unsustainable after its main sponsor withdrew and replacement sponsors failed to materialise.

Club officials point to structural challenges to explain the withdrawal of Fortuna. Limited regional business activity outside the Randstad reduces sponsorship opportunities, while lower attendances and television audiences compared to the men’s game constrain commercial returns. As one Fortuna executive noted, many sponsors struggle to justify investment when visibility and short-term return on investment remain limited.

Yet the Dutch market also offers evidence of what is possible. Hera United, a newly licensed club without a men’s team, has entered the Eredivisie backed by sponsors such as Booking, Nike and Sportcity. All players are on professional contracts, and the club deliberately positions itself not just as a football team, but as a broader brand and mission focused on elevating women’s football¹³. 

Crucially, this model is underpinned by a level of financial commitment that exceeds the current norm within the Dutch league. Estimates suggest that annual budgets of around €3 million are required to compete at the top of the Vrouwen Eredivisie, while investment of approximately €18 million per year would be necessary to compete at the European level. This ambition is also reflected in statements by the club’s leadership, with co-founder Visser articulating the objective of establishing Hera United among Europe’s leading teams within the next decade and expressing confidence that both investment thresholds are attainable¹⁴.

Conclusion

From an investment perspective, women’s football is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Growth in audiences, participation and media exposure is now beginning to translate into rising revenues across leading leagues. The commercial profile of the fanbase (predominantly female, concentrated in higher global income brackets, and largely within prime spending age groups) adds further strength to the investment case.

Investor behaviour is beginning to reflect these opportunities, with capital flowing into the sport and club valuations rising rapidly, even as many teams remain loss-making. That combination, strong value growth alongside negative short-term profitability, makes the sector particularly attractive for long-term investors willing to look beyond immediate returns. At the same time, outcomes differ sharply by market: while leagues like the WSL have strengthened their position through professionalisation and a clear commercial strategy, others, such as the Dutch Vrouwen Eredivisie, remain more fragile. Taken together, these dynamics suggest that women’s football offers meaningful long-term growth potential, but also involves substantial financial risks that warrant cautious assessment.

Reference List

  1. Correspondent (2025) https://decorrespondent.nl/16219/ja-het-vrouwenvoetbal-wordt-echt-net-zo-groot-als-het-mannenvoetbal-zegt-deze-econoom/676995a9-327a-0276-1e0c-6a15a21fee3d

  2. Forbes (2025) https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2025/06/02/michele-kang-washington-spirit-nwsl-future-of-womens-soccer/

  3. Nielsen (2025) https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2025/womens-football-set-to-enter-global-top-5-sports-by-2030-with-over-800m-fans-nielsen-sports-and-pepsico-report-reveals-untapped-opportunity-for-brands/

  4. RTL (2019) https://www.rtl.nl/nieuws/buitenland/artikel/4768776/zo-werd-amerika-de-grootmacht-van-het-vrouwenvoetbal

  5. NOS (2024) https://nos.nl/artikel/2542634-uefa-wil-met-nieuwe-strategie-een-miljard-euro-investeren-in-vrouwenvoetbal

  6. Deloitte (2025) https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/services/consulting/research/annual-review-of-football-finance-womens-super-league.html

  7. LGT Wealth Management (2025) https://www.lgtwm.com/uk-en/insights/lifestyle/from-ban-to-boom-the-meteoric-rise-of-womens-football-298414 

  8. Forbes (2025) https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2025/06/02/the-nwsls-most-valuable-teams-2025/

  9. New York Times (2025) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6696580/2025/10/08/nwsl-private-equity-ownership-soccer/?redirected=1

  10. The Halfway Line (2025) https://thehalfwayline.com/2025/06/24/vrouwen-eredivisie-drops-to-10-teams-whilst-the-wsl-expands/

  11. Sportnieuws (2024) https://sportnieuws.nl/voetbal/nieuws/prijzengeld-or-dit-verdiende-ajax-vrouwen-tot-nu-toe-met-hun-plek-in-de-kwartfinale-van-de-champions-league-2024031918402509105/ 

  12. Deloitte (2026) https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/about/press-room/top-ranked-womens-football-clubs-generate-over-150-m-for-first-time.html 

  13. RTL Z (2025) https://www.rtl.nl/nieuws/economie/artikel/5531384/financien-van-vrouwenvoetbal-waarom-fortuna-afhaakt 

  14. Sponsoreport (2025) https://www.sponsorreport.nl/sportvrouwenvoetbal-geen-kostenpost-maar-commerciele-kans/