We Owe It To The Lionesses To Invest In Women’s Football And Realise Its Potential | Kelly Simmons

The Lionesses are simply nan astir successful England shot squad successful history, winning back-to-back European Championships and becoming nan first England elder squad to triumph a awesome tourney connected overseas soil. It is an incredible achievement and 1 that will resound done nan women’s crippled for galore years to come.

The caput coach, Sarina Wiegman, is simply world class; it’s an overused building but perfectly fitting successful this case. To scope 5 awesome finals successful a statement (including a European Championship triumph and a World Cup last pinch nan Netherlands earlier joining England) is simply a grounds that whitethorn ne'er beryllium surpassed. She was an inspired prime by Kay Cossington, nan erstwhile Football Association method head who targeted her for her expertise to build a beardown civilization and consciousness of squad arsenic overmuch arsenic her evident tactical acumen.

The Lionesses, for illustration their manager, besides show exemplary activity qualities connected and disconnected nan pitch. On nan pitch, they are wonderfully resilient and wished and simply do not cognize really to springiness up. In nan semi-final, arsenic moreover nan astir ardent England instrumentality was losing hope, they recovered a measurement successful nan 96th minute to claw themselves backmost into nan competition. They had to travel from down 3 times successful nan title and emerged victorious from 2 punishment shootouts (how very un‑English) to clasp their trophy.

Off nan pitch, they are visible and vocal ambassadors for nan game, demanding adjacent entree for girls to play and ensuring that erstwhile nan baton is passed connected to nan adjacent procreation nan crippled is near successful a amended place. They utilised their level to speak retired connected a scope of issues from periods to autism, intelligence wellness and bereavement and besides took a guidelines against nan abhorrent racism directed astatine Jess Carter. The Lionesses are nan powerful domiciled models our young girls truthful desperately need.

While nan England men’s team, nether Gareth Southgate’s leadership, embodied a much inclusive imagination of Englishness (captured beautifully successful Dear England) nan Lionesses person embodied a beardown powerful consciousness of a modern young woman. So, congratulations Sarina and nan Lionesses, I couldn’t beryllium a much proud English woman.

But, pinch nan players now connected a well-deserved break, attraction will soon move to nan motorboat of nan Women’s Super League play and nan request to maximise nan momentum from nan summer.

The Lionesses captured nan imagination of nan nation. TV audiences peaked astatine 16 cardinal for nan final, nan biggest assemblage of nan twelvemonth and thing that would have seemed unimaginable not truthful agelong ago.

More than 65,000 fans came to London past Tuesday, successful unprecedented scenes for women’s sport, to congratulate their heroines and observe their achievements. Even nan astir ardent naysayers person to admit – women’s shot has a passionate and increasing fanbase.

And it is this very fanbase that presents shot pinch its biggest maturation opportunity. A recent Nielsen report estimated that women’s shot fans worldwide will scope 800 cardinal by 2030. The women’s shot fanbase is young, diverse, female skewed and passionate astir nan women’s game, its values, its inclusiveness and its accessibility. Clubs’ trading and PR strategies request to bespeak this and understand that nan measurement nan women’s crippled is consumed is different from nan men’s game.

Targeting this fanbase in this way will bring clubs new fans done nan turnstiles, caller brands and caller revenues. Now who couldn’t get down that opportunity?

The situation for WSL Football (the caller institution overseeing women’s master football), moving tirelessly to grow the game, is nan varying levels of commitment, expertise and finance from nan clubs to do conscionable this.

Arsenal connection impervious that investing successful a awesome product, trading it to this caller fanbase and providing a awesome lucifer time acquisition tin create a viable women’s shot team. They person already sold 15,000 play tickets and, travel nan opening fixture, nan Emirates Stadium will beryllium sold retired pinch Gooners welcoming backmost some their Lionesses and their Champions League‑winning heroines.

Alessia Russo, Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead won nan Champions League this year. Photograph: Rodrigo Antunes/Reuters

But galore clubs are conscionable scratching nan surface, focused connected nan behemoth that is men’s football. And I do understand. If you are responsible for a world marque wherever nan mostly of gross comes from nan men’s game, this will beryllium your main focus, but forward-thinking leaders of clubs cannot miss this caller maturation opportunity. A modern progressive club, attracting purpose-driven brands and engaging nan adjacent procreation of young fans will request a thriving men’s and women’s team. The younger procreation expect better.

And if you can’t aliases won’t put successful it location are plentifulness who will. Women’s shot is becoming fertile crushed for investors and backstage equity arsenic nine audiences, revenues and valuations turn exponentially. Michele Kang’s acquisition of London City Lionesses and Alexis Ohanian’s 10% finance successful Chelsea is only nan extremity of nan iceberg. These investors bring successful overmuch needed gross to bolster nan first squad arsenic good arsenic a start-up mindset pinch nan capacity and attraction to thrust commercialized growth.

The worst point that clubs tin do now is nothing, whether that’s not trading a liking to pull nan expertise and finance required or not investing themselves. Put bluntly, it’s clip to put up aliases waste out.

Women’s football, successful my lifetime, will go nan 2nd biggest athletics successful nan world down men’s football. If you cannot spot this aft Euro 2025, past you need to return nan blinkers off.

It’s clip to measurement up and invest. The Lionesses’ bequest depends connected you.

Kelly Simmons is simply a advisor for Run Communications’ women’s athletics division, Run X, and erstwhile head of nan women’s master crippled astatine nan Football Association.

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