the long journey of
women's football
Australian Women’s National Team in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 ™
Study of the evolution of the women’s football industry and its impact on international trade through the analysis of the main sector indicators and those related to the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ as an event of international significance.
The study and its main outcomes
In recent years women’s football has experienced remarkable growth, triggering a significant shift in global sports consumption. The upward trajectory of the women’s game has led to the rise of world class footballers which has ultimately resulted in increased media coverage, rapid commercialisation, and heightened engagement in all corners of the globe.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup™ stands as the cornerstone of this progression, achieving unparalleled viewership figures, transcending conventional barriers, and capturing the hearts and minds of billions.
Furthermore, the women’s game is a force for greater societal change which has intensified the interest in women’s football. Collectively, these advancements signify a bright future for women’s football, so it is crucial that we all work together to ensure this growth is sustained.
Elevating women’s football to the mainstream
The global audience for women's football has seen significant growth in recent years
FIFA
Women’s
World Cup™
2023
Over 1.8 million tickets were sold for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™
China PR produced the highest audience for a single match. 53.9 million viewers watched their match against England
In the first 15 days of the tournament, traffic on FIFA’s digital platforms had already surpassed the entirety of the traffic during the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™.
Domestic club football
34%
Proportion of women’s football matches broadcasted on free-to-air television
67%
95%
Proportion of FIFA Member Associations that promote women’s football across traditional and social media platforms
The analysis of the global audience at national and international level shows a significant and consistent growth of the women’s game. In particular, the 2023 edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, attracted an unprecedented 1.98 million fans across 10 stadiums and engaged a global audience in excess of 2 billion people.
It appears crucial that FIFA and all national and international sports institutions continue to broaden the exposure and value of the women’s tournaments.
Fair Play, Fair Pay
Increased FIFA Women’s World Cup™ prize money
Another indicator of FIFA’s increased investment into the women’s game, is the substantial growth of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ prize money.
Prize money for the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ was first introduced in 2007 and the amount awarded to participating member associations has increased with each edition. The amount offered in 2023 was approximately 10 times higher than 2015 and almost 20 times greater than the USD 6.4 million on offer in 2007.
The USD 110 million prize money of the last edition marked an unprecedented leap towards financial equality. At the 73rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced that the ultimate aim is to achieve equality in payments for the men’s FIFA World Cup and the FIFA women’s World Cup in 2026 and 2027 respectively.
Prize money ratios between the FIFA Men’s World Cup™ and FIFA Women’s World Cup™ demonstrates that the gap is closing. In 2007 the prize money on offer for the men was 41 times more than the women, however, for the 2023 edition it was just four times less than the men’s.
Under the new collective bargaining agreements approved by the the United States Soccer Federation in the 2022, men and women will for the first time be paid at the same rate for representing the United States in international soccer matches and tournaments.
In addition to those new per-game payments, the new contracts also include an unprecedented redistribution of the millions of dollars in FIFA World Cup prize money. They also contain new revenue-sharing agreements that could see the players receive millions more from their cut of US Soccer’s commercial revenues each year.
This is a first for US Soccer but not for women’s soccer; teams from Norway and Australia have agreed and signed equal pay deals for match payments, though none address their teams’ total compensation gap.
Women's football is becoming truly global
Number of athletes: this is also relevant to the increase in the number of the participating teams - without that, the number of athletes would not have increased
To fuel the professionalisation of women’s football, it is crucial that more women have the opportunity to represent their country on the world stage and this is demonstrated through the increased number of participants, since the first edition in 1991 which featured just 12 teams.
Consistent growth saw 16 teams contest from 1995 until 2011 before the 2015 and 2019 editions in Canada and France marked a significant expansion to 24 teams, indicating FIFA’s commitment to lead the growth of women’s football. For 2023, FIFA took the bold decision to increase the number of teams to 32, aligning the with the men’s FIFA World Cup™.
The eight new slots, were filled by eight debutant teams who participated in the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ for the first time, taking the women’s game to new corners of the globe. There were external concerns that the women’s game was not mature enough to expand to 32 teams, with doubts over the competitive balance, however the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ was highly competitive. It was the first edition where teams from all six confederations won a match and three teams from Africa progressed to the Round of 16.
With more teams, comes more athletes and the tournament has experienced more than a threefold increase since the first edition. In China, 216 athletes took part compared to 736 athletes in 2023.
FIFA decision to expand the tournament to 32 teams underscores the organisation’s commitment to enhance the commercial value and build the foundations of the women’s game.
Building the foundations, growing participation
The number of women and girls playing organised football has increased by nearly a quarter compared to 2019 (to 16.6m).
16.6
million
Women and girls playing organised football (24% growth since 2019)
3.9
million
Registered female players globally
19,064
Professional female players globally
55,622
Women’s football clubs globally
48,202
66,125
Female referees: 9% out of total 731,500
Data: FIFA, Elaboration: OpenEconomics
Empowering women in football
The women’s game is a powerful force to empower women, on and off the pitch
Women’s football is a driver for greater societal change. Several sports institutions have invested in a range of tailor-made development programmes to ensure that the game’s potential can be maximised by all.
A significant example are the Women’s Development Programmes launched by FIFA in September 2020. These programmes are designed to sustainably develop women’s football and aims to provide all 211 FIFA Member Associations with the opportunity to access additional resources and specialist expertise to develop women’s football at a national level. Since launching, FIFA has delivered more than 1000 programmes to 140+ countries in the world.
Desiree Ellis, Head Coach of the South Africa Women’s National Team
The FIFA Women’s Development Programme includes the following projects:
- Women’s Football Strategy
- Women’s Football Campaign
- League Development
- Club Licensing
- Capacity-Building for Administrators
- Coach Education Scholarships
- Coach Mentorship
- Women in Football Leadership
Kat Smith and Iraia Iturregi in FIFA Coach Mentorship Programme
As part of an ongoing commitment to provide more opportunities for women in football, FIFA has two projects targeted at coaches: the Coach Education Scholarship Programme and the Coach Mentorship Programme.
Through these programmes, FIFA aims to: increase the number of female coaches in football, create a network of coaches, keep top female coaches and in the game and provide the next generation of elite coaches with the opportunity to be mentored by some of the women’s game’s most accomplished coaches.
FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP™ | HER STORY, THEIR STORY, OUR STORY
Fueling player movement
Accelerating professionalisation
The significant rise in the number of transfers and transfer spending from 2018 to 2023 underscores the remarkable growth and accelerating professionalisation of women’s football.
This trend is driven by the growing financial investments in talent acquisition, reflecting an evolving sports industry where professionalisation is intensifying. Since 2018, the number of transfers has surged by 172%, while total spending on these transfers has skyrocketed by 917%.
Leading the change
Women's football stars' digital footprint and inspirational legacy
First XI by Social Media Fanbase
The most followed on major platforms
Update: August 2024
28,2 M
# 1
20,3 M
# 2
5,2 M
# 3
4,6 M
# 4
3,7 M
# 5
3,7 M
# 6
3,5 M
# 7
3,4 M
# 8
2,7 M
# 9
2,7 M
# 10
2,5 M
# 11
Data: FIFA
Social media is a major contributor to the growth of women’s football and an important platform for athletes to share their stories.
The players themselves have become role models and are using their audiences to inspire girls and women globally.
As the social media following of women’s football players has skyrocketed, so has their ability to influence social change. The players’ profiles have become powerful platforms to raise awareness of important issues, shape public opinion and inspire the next generation.
The combination of big audiences and colourful personalities has naturally attracted an increase in personal endorsement deals and collaborations with high profile brands, which further strengthens the business proposition of the women’s game.
The journey of FIFA Women’s World Cup™ – FIFA OFFICIAL VIDEO
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IMPACT ANALYSIS
Impact analysis of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ on women’s empowerment, inclusive growth, and sustainable global Trade
GoalEconomy is a research programme promoted by FIFA and the WTO.
Developed with the support of OpenEconomics.
Copyright © GoalEconomy | All rights reserved The WTO and FIFA have agreed to work together to examine how international trade and football can serve as catalysts for economic growth and social inclusion. The collaboration, spelled out in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, seeks to foster synergies in relation to the economic dimension of sport and empowerment, especially for least-developed countries (LDCs) and women. Under the MoU, which will remain in force until 31 December 2027, the WTO and FIFA will exchange information and expertise on the economic dimension of football, through participation in conferences, regular meetings, and contribution to studies. The opinions expressed on this website do not necessarily represent the positions or opinions of WTO or FIFA members and are without prejudice to members’ rights and obligations under the WTO and FIFA. .