The tickets for the European Championship final were gone within 43 minutes. Nearly 90 thousand spectators will see at Wembley at the end of July which country has the best women’s football in Europe. When the football players of England and Austria open the tournament in Manchester on Wednesday, Old Trafford will also be sold out.
Women’s football is developing rapidly, according to the figures of this thirteenth European Championship: the tournament was held for the first time in 1984. Five years ago, 247,041 people attended the European Championship in the Netherlands, which was a record at the time. The tournament in England is heading for more than a doubling.
The fact that the football temples in Manchester and London are full is the culmination of a long struggle for emancipation. ‘Pity of the grass’, was the cry not so long ago when women played in large stadiums. Now big clubs are showing off visitor records: 91,548 watched Barcelona against Wolfsburg in Camp Nou.
The model of the men
The world of women’s football is starting to resemble that of the men, especially when it comes to the increasing influence of money. This can lead to a large gap between the top and the rest. “There is a great risk of the men’s model being copied in women’s football,” said Maurizio Valenti, senior lecturer at the University of Manchester. ‘Only with even greater financial and sporting differences.’
The Italian has been researching the business side of women’s football and the involvement of existing clubs for years. For a long time, most clubs wanted nothing to do with women’s football. Just like the football associations that even banned it completely for a long time.
Those days are over: more and more clubs with a history in men’s football see a future in women’s football. Certainly also the big clubs that dominate European men’s football. The top players from the Premier League all have a women’s branch, Paris Saint-Germain recently strictered Lieke Martens and her previous club Barcelona was a pioneer in Spain. Now that the club has been successful, Real Madrid cannot and will not be left behind.
Visibility
It is a development that many players have hoped for and fought for. They used to be a fan of one of those clubs themselves, now they can finally dream of wearing their favorite shirt. Vivianne Miedema recently extended her contract with the English top club Arsenal, she plays in the strongest competition in Europe, but she hopes to play for Feyenoord one day. That club hooked up last season for the first time in the Women’s Eredivisie.
The big clubs also provide more visibility. And therefore more money. It’s not just that TV deals are being made and more sponsors are joining, but it certainly contributes to it.
“It seems that the strength of the brand built by men can be transferred to the women’s branch,” explains Valenti. Not an unnecessary luxury, because there is still little interest in most competition matches† even in the English Women’s Super League the average number of spectators does not exceed 3 thousand.
Conversely, there are also opportunities for the clubs. Commercial, although at the moment most of the investment is needed. But if they want to stay relevant in a society where women and men are becoming more equal, they’d better keep an eye out for the long-ignored half of the population. “When I talk to drivers, they say so,” explains Valenti. “We lose money on women’s football, but we don’t care because we do what’s right. They see the social value and women’s football can respond to and benefit from that.’
Motives
Whether with good intentions or for financial reasons, the investments have completely turned European women’s football upside down. In the early years of the Women’s Champions League, clubs like Umea IK and Turbine Potsdam competed for the title, now it’s Barcelona, Chelsea and Olympique Lyon. FFC Frankfurt, the first winner of the cup, is now unable to stand on its own two feet – the club recently merged with the men of Eintracht Frankfurt.
“It is of course great that investments are being made,” says Leoni Blokhuis, the agent of many players of the Dutch national team. ‘But everywhere where money can be made, people get on board. We are now also seeing many new agents. I’m not against new colleagues, but I sometimes wonder where they get the expertise from and I’m curious what their motivations are.’
Blokhuis was already active when women earned little or nothing from football. She was laughed at on birthdays, had to do other work for years on the side, but now has a company with two employees. She especially applauds the professionalization, has advocated for it for years and also goes along with it. Earlier this year, she sold a minority stake in her company FlowSports to SEG, a large management firm that has been active in football and other sports for a long time.
‘It is not a bad thing that it is becoming more businesslike,’ she says. “If you invest, it’s a sign that the sport is taken seriously. But it also has dark sides. The differences are really getting bigger. There is really something to be gained in the English league, it brings players something, everyone wants to go there.’
middle class
It’s been like this in men’s football for decades. Clubs from the Big Five – England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy – earn so much more money from TV monies and sponsorship contracts that it is virtually impossible for clubs from smaller leagues to reach the absolute top.
In the case of women, the danger is even greater, because the base is less wide. There are relatively fewer good players, and also fewer of the middle class, so the clubs with the top players quickly stand out. The salaries are also much lower, so it is much easier to make a difference with relatively little money.
“With a small percentage of Cristiano Ronaldo’s salary you can pay for an entire women’s team,” says Valenti. “And if Real Madrid signs up for a talent, Turbine Potsdam doesn’t stand a chance of course.”
The danger is no longer imaginary, the clubs from large countries dominate the Women’s Champions League. And there are also huge differences within those competitions. In Spain, Barcelona won all thirty games this year, with a goal difference of 159 for and 11 against. In France, Italy and Germany, two clubs stand out from the rest. Only in England is the top wider.
It is bad news for Dutch clubs and football players. Even before women’s football has really picked up steam, there is already a threat of a role in the margins for the Eredivisie. That is not good for the Dutch team either, because young talents encounter much less resistance here than abroad. Especially when the best players leave.
growing pains
In a favorable scenario, the sport is only at the beginning and women’s football is developing much more broadly. More clubs are joining, competition is growing, as is the supply of good players. That could lead to the big clubs stealing all the talents and only a small elite club remains. That would not benefit the sport, because Valenti’s research shows that while the public welcomes the arrival of well-known clubs, they also want to see exciting matches.
“We have a free market, so I don’t think you can slow this down,” fears the Italian. In theory, for example, you could still think of salary limits or budget ceilings, such as with sports in the United States. ‘But I don’t see how you can do that in a movement that actually needs investment.’
Blokhuis is still mainly positive about the development of women’s football. She also realizes that the growth is accompanied by pain, but according to her it is difficult to stop. ‘The force fields are too big for that. And money can buy almost everything.’
Almost everything, because in the end it is the players themselves who decide whether or not to go along with it. She often advises them not to be guided by money alone. “In the end, that’s just the most important thing,” says the agent. Miedema, one of her players, was recently able to go to two clubs that offered more, but preferred to stay with Arsenal. “Sometimes you have to choose a smaller bag of money because it’s better.”