The business behind the boom is still catching up

The business behind the boom in women’s football is still catching up.

We’ve been digging deep into the digital and commercial infrastructure supporting the cultural moment of women’s football across Europe. ⚽

Income sources like transfer fees and TV rights remain highly uneven (as well as relation to or dependence on men’s football) and skewed in favor of a couple of leagues.

For most women's football businesses, competing financially will take time, but there are two smart LONG GAME responses that have been emerging:

1️⃣ Talent development – Clubs investing in academies to develop homegrown players as their sporting and financial backbone.

2️⃣ Community-first – Clubs and businesses building fan ecosystems to drive attendance, retail, and relevance.

When it comes to digital infrastructure and capabilities… We’re seeing that there is a lot of data being collected, but much less USE of that data (for a whole load of reasons, e.g., time!!)

But, we are seeing digital infrastructure and capabilities playing a greater role in these two exciting areas:

👉🏾 Developing talent pipelines (e.g., scouting and training).

👉🏾 Building stronger fan relationships (e.g., personalized experiences and e-commerce).

With Hannah Kuntz and Ready Sport Global, we’re currently mapping these digital infrastructure gaps across the game to build a clearer picture of what 'readiness' actually looks like in 2026. More to come on that soon!