When life gives you Covid-19… make lemonade? A positive report on how women's football can continue to make an impact
A prime example of such initiatives being put into action is through the self-reflection and feedback taken on by the FA Player. A survey was released to all subscribers with detailed questions targeting respondents to feedback on the reception, response and areas of improvements to the groundbreaking app. This exemplifies a way in which clubs and organisations can use stoppage of play to improve the services offered to women's football supporters and simultaneously use the findings to explore ways in which the platform can further increase viewership and interaction in seasons to come. The FA Player in itself, a novel way of streaming all WSL matches and some Championship ones online for free, has widely increased the accessibility and visibility of the English women's league both domestically and abroad. Similar models are also being used in other countries such as in Australia's W-League where matches are free and accessible to international audiences on YouTube, and in the NWSL where matches are streamed for free for domestic US supporters on Yahoo Sports. The success of these free and readily available streaming platforms in various different countries means that there is also an opportunity for other leagues to begin to design and adopt similar sites during this period where the focus on present play is nonexistent.
During this period of lockdown not only has the FA Player been exemplary in gathering feedback for future improvements, they have also created new content specifically catering to an audience that is in lockdown. These initiatives have included Coffee Club, where Lionesses both host and act as guests on a recorded Google Hangout; and Keeping Up With The Lionesses, featuring the lockdown routine of a different national team player each week. This is a great way of growing rapport between players and supporters, increasing the connection and interest in them which may then translate into match day audiences and sales once the season recommences. In this sense, a few simple weekly segments have already helped to consolidate areas which FIFPRO determined to be distinct assets for women's football: "proximity to fans, accessible role models, and opportunities for education."
On top of this, and alongside many other federations and organisations, they have been streaming old ‘classic’ matches. In the cases of FIFA and UEFA these have been alongside men's football matches which has increased the reach and exposure of women's play. Another area in which promotion of women's and men's players alongside each other has occurred is through online FIFA tournaments. In the NHS Charities Together Cup, Leah Williamson, Vivianne Miedema and Erin Cuthbert battled it out against male footballers and other sports stars whilst being streamed live online. Through such initiatives in which female and male players can compete alongside each other and have their FIFA games transmitted on the same platforms to the same audiences, a greater exposure has been reached with minimum effort and financial costs involved.
Individual clubs have also found ways to engage with local communities and charities during this time, not only increasing audience reach but also favourability towards them. In Spain, the Real Betis women's team have been making masks amongst other sanitary equipment in the parking lot underneath the men's stadium, whilst Germany's Wolfsburg invited players to visit care homes closer to the beginning of the pandemic. Alongside Birmingham City's KRO Challenge which had a heavy involvement from their women's side, these are examples of how building a repertoire with a team's fanbase and increase the reach of said supporter network can continue even when there's no matches to watch. The positive results of these, aside from the fundraising and resource contributions they've already had, are still to be seen. However, there is a hope that this extra exposure and connection with the fanbase will equal an increase in match day revenue, sales and generally help economic growth channeled towards women's football.
For the leagues that are set to restart rather than have their seasons cancelled, and for summer leagues that may also be returning in the next months, this may turn into an unprecedented time to improve broadcasting financial gains and viewership. Germany's Frauen Bundesliga, set to return on the 29th of May, could potentially capitalise on a current vacuum as they would become one of the only football leagues and the only women's league to be playing. Putting aside debates over whether these leagues should be recommencing at all, now that they are scheduled to be played there is a great opportunity to increase exposure. There has already been a large reception (although admittedly not as huge as BT Sports initially hoped it would be in the UK) for the return of such leagues as the Korean one and the German Bundesliga, this increased thirst for football should surely also result in an rise of interest and demand for women's football. As Lewes FC commented in a statement released earlier this month, “behind closed doors, the match day experience of women’s and men’s football is identical" so broadcasting both under the same conditions could potentially attract greater audiences who are missing out on the crowd atmosphere in men's games too. Not only is there a potential to gain revenue from broadcasting rights but also to increase the audience these Bundesliga matches reach, especially as many will be played at different times than the men's league matches and so audiences will not overlap. At a time when one of the main issues stunting growth is accessibility, broadcasting matches could result in increasing visibility, generating buzz and reaching new audiences. Many of those that would be watching women's club football for the first time could end up becoming long term fans.
Dissimilarly to the unfolding of events in Germany, women's football has been treated completely differently and as a separate entity to the men's sport in countries such as Spain. In this case, the way in which the termination of the rest of the season was dealt with, even though it was the calculated action to take, brought into the spotlight the necessity of introducing professionalisation to the league. According to Spanish law, each sport can only have three professional leagues, in football these are taking up by the top three men's divisions. Ultimately, the main reasons why the Primera Iberdrola was unanimously cancelled and a champion was elected by the federation was due to the decision made that all non-professional leagues would not resume play. That the top women's league, where the majority of players rely heavily if not solely on football income, was treated with the same considerations and criteria as grassroots football has helped to expose the gender inequalities that exist within Spanish football. The fact that this has been brought into the public and media's eyes has increased public outcry and pressure on it to be changed. Although this treatment, which is arguably rooted in neither equality or equity, has had negative short term consequences, it may catalyse the alteration of this law and allow for the Primera Iberdrola to become a professional league in the near future.
From a global perspective, during a time when large businesses and companies may be looking to scale back their sponsorship investments, the lower priced deals and high potential for women's football may turn into an increasingly attractive market. The revenue from sponsors is essential for growing the game due to it bringing both financial assets and benefits in raising awareness and interest in the game itself. Particularly during this uncertain time, sound financial footing is paramount to ensure the continuity and growth of women's football. According to FIFPRO, in Europe the average "annual sponsorship deal is valued below the EUR 1 million mark." These sums are essential investments in women's football, but merely a grain of sand compared to the fees paid for sponsorship deals in men's football. For example, the largest women's sport deal in the UK was Barclay's recent title sponsorship of the WSL and is worth around £10m over three seasons. The Premiere League's lead sponsor EA Sports paid over £65m for the same privileges. And the Barclay’s deal is the outlier, many major European teams have an average sponsorship deal of EUR 175,000 whilst a team like Manchester United had a Adidas partnership this season valued at an estimated EUR 800,000,000. Therefore, a push to find new and willing sponsors that are no longer prepared to spend hundreds of millions on similar offers in the men's game could be fruitful, and would result in growing sustainability within women's football.
This period of uncertainty with decisions being made over the continuation or cancellation of seasons has also brought into focus the necessity for players' voices to be heard. FIFPRO highlighted the importance of developing player-centred policies to "protect and safeguard the rights and interests of the professionals at the heart of the game." Difficulties that players face during this period such as furlough threats, contracts running out with no alternatives being found and a lack of proper means to train are a lot more prominent for women's compared to men's football, and many have spoken up about this situation. Stark differences have been found during discussions to potentially restart both the WSL and Premier Leagues, notably clubs not being in a position to financially implement the new hygiene regulations and the fact that a return would mean that clubs such as Reading would be forced to stop the furlough programme. This has not only raised awareness about the uneven playing field women are and would be forced to compete on, it has also increased the understanding of the importance of player's having a say in such crucial decisions that directly affect them. Many have also taken stands on social media or in interviews stating their views (see previous article) and members of the FIFPRO player council have been actively feeding back suggestions and personal accounts. This period is demonstrating the importance of diversifying those involved in the decision making process as well as giving a platform for player's to voice their own experiences, a crucial step forward to ensure that it is not just an isolated room mainly filled by men in suits who are in charge of the regulations that shape the women's game.
At a time when most leagues have been cancelled, and the WSL is on the brink of such a decision too, the focus that would usually surround matches being played has the opportunity to shift- not exclusively to the men's restarting leagues- but rather onto ways in which the level and resources surrounding women's football can be improved over the coming years. This could be an unprecedented opportunity to focus on areas of improvement and development, some of which have already been outlined above and many others which were put forward in FIFPRO's latest report. With the right political, communal and financial support there are many ways in which this period could result in long term benefits for the women's game. What is needed is that those with the power to foster change don't just let the loss of women's football be a side effect of economic cuts but rather ensure that proactiveness, self-inflection and clarity are at the forefront of future policies.