FIFA report shows growth in women's soccer

Womens soccer is seeing growing revenues globally from sponsorships broadcast deals and merchandising while also seeing greater interest from fans according to a new survey by the games governing body FIFA released its second benchmarking report on womens soccer on Friday as the sport gains momentum ahead of next summers Womens World Cup in Australia and New ZealandThe organization surveyed 30 of the top leagues and 294 clubs building on the first benchmarking report released last year While COVID19 impacted club revenue in the prior report the latest survey found growth across the board from matchday broadcast commercial and prize money sources Clubs reported yearonyear commercial revenue growth of 3337 mdash indicating growing interest from sponsors It found that 7737 of leagues had a title sponsor up from 1137 in 2021Yearonyear broadcast revenue grew 2237 Ten leagues reported broadcast revenue compared to nine in the previous survey But theres also room for growth The report found that just 737 of clubs globally reported more than 1 million in revenue from matches broadcast commercial and prize money Sarai Bareman FIFAs chief womens football officer said the report underscores womens soccer is a wise investmentldquoThe changes are clear in the second edition of the report We know it we feel it she said And for me itrsquos just getting those people that are involved particularly in the highest levels of our game all around the world to see and understand the opportunity that sits in front of them Itrsquos facts and data that are often the things that appeal to those people Itrsquos not anecdotal anymore Itrsquos here on paperrdquoAlso Read India lose 05 to Brazil end FIFA U17 Womens World Cup campaign with allloss recordThe structural growth in womens soccer has been accompanied by unprecedented interest in the game A friendly between the United States and England at Wembley attracted nearly 78000 fans and sold out within 24 hours The recent Womens Africa Cup of Nations had 50000 on hand for the final between Morocco and South Africa and 91000 fans were at Camp Nou for a UEFA Champions League quarterfinal matchldquoWomanrsquos football is on a growth trajectory unlike any other sport in this world Itrsquos the biggest growth opportunity that FIFA as an organization have today but more importantly our sport football has today Itrsquos the biggest growth opportunity there is And you donrsquot have to look too far back to see the indicators of that growth Bareman saidThe upcoming Womens World Cup reflects the growth in the game with an expanded field of 32 teams up from 24 at the last two tournaments That has paved the way for firsttime participants including Morocco Philippines Ireland Vietnam and Zambia But FIFAs survey also comes at a turbulent time for the game In the United States a recent investigation found systemic abuse and misconduct in the National Womens Soccer League the sports top pro tier in the countryUS Soccer commissioned the investigation following the dismissal last year of North Carolina Courage coach Paul Riley after two former players accused him of harassment and sexual coercion in a story in The Athletic last fall Five of the 10 coaches in the NWSL last season were either fired or stepped down because of misconductFIFA has a safeguarding program that was implemented at the under20 Womenrsquos World Cup in Costa Rica this summer The program is aimed at keeping participants and fans safe from abuse exploitation and harassment The tournamentrsquos 32 games were staffed by a safeguarding official as well as a representative from Costa Ricarsquos National Childrenrsquos Institute Participants were briefed about abuse and how to report itThe safeguarding program is part of the FIFA Guardians initiative announced following the 2019 Womenrsquos World Cup to ensure player safety It was developed with UNICEF the United Nations childrenrsquos agency It will be in place for next summers senior World CupThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever