Women’s football is at the cusp of a growth expansion. For the first time, the cumulative revenue of 15 highest revenue generating women’s football clubs have crossed the €100mn mark. Investments have increased significantly, so much so that we now have investment groups who have funds dedicated towards acquiring stakes in women’s football clubs. Mercury/13 was established earlier and acquired Como Women and now comes the news of Sixth Street, a private equity group launching Bay Collective, a dedicated fund to invest in premier women’s clubs across the globe and create a multi-club ownership network. With the new interests generated in sponsorship and recalibrated broadcasting deals, it is on the way.
Today’s blog is dedicated to the growth of women’s football including the top 15 teams and WSL.
15 Highest Revenue Generating Clubs
The growth story for the 15 highest revenue generating women’s football clubs is spectacular. As per Deloitte Football Money League 2025 report released recently, total revenue generated by the top 15 clubs in 23/24 is €116.6mn growing by 83% over 22/23 values which had already grown by 75% over 21/22.
What caused this growth?
It can be attributed to the growth in commercial revenue stream which contributed a solid 63% of the total revenue. Further, 12 out of 15 clubs (except PSG whose breakdown is not reported). reporting an excess of 60% contribution. This can be seen as an indication towards the power of women’s football in securing independent sponsorships. This is only expected to grow further.
It’s important to note that all the 15 clubs achieved double digit growth. Leading the pack in terms of growth percentage is Arsenal reporting a growth of 238% with a revenue of €17.9m, out of which €11.7m or 65% is generated through commercial deals. Following them is Chelsea Women who reported a 227% growth, again led by 65% growth in commercial revenue. Third highest growth reporting club is Bayern Munich with 185% growth, a lower volume but high growth rate.
While the women’s teams have traditionally received contributions from their men’s club, it seems to be only a matter of time before the women’s team are self-sufficient with a confirmed growth path, both in revenues and status.
WSL: On a New Journey
Women’s Super League (WSL), the highest league of women’s football in England run by the Football Association since 2010 and featuring twelve fully professional teams is set to undergo a completely new journey. In November 2023, it was announced that WSL and second-tier Women’s Championship are set to break free from the FA and governed by a new, independent body from 2024/25 season. The entity, temporarily named NewCo, will owned by the clubs and the FA will have a special share within that like it does in the Premier League.
Looking back, in over a decade WSL has made tremendous progress. From an eight-team start to a fully committed 12 team series. The more-than-double revenue growth in the last three years highlights the progress and the projection for next two years reiterates it as given in the chart. With the formation of NewCo, one of the expectations is to put special emphasis on a more stronger media rights growth as the distribution reaches new geographies.
In Conclusion
At this time when the women’s football is at the cusp of growth explosion, it is pointless to talk about their profitability. The Deloitte Women’s Money League Report too confirms that none of the top 15 revenue generating clubs reported profits. The bigger thing to note is the independent growth pointers which women’s football clubs and women’s football in totality has shown.
- The propensity of big brands to partner independently with women’s teams
- An unprecedented increase in attendance during both club and national women’s football matches
- Broadcast viewership growth
Women’s football is well on its way to occupy a permanent position in the global popularity charts.
