In these years, the battle for equality in football world has been ongoing, more and more women are gaining opportunities to participate in the sports they love. We can see this trend through the increasing number of women involved in football, the growth of the industry, and the expanding influence it holds. Today’s hana insight offers key information and data concerning women's football, including global markets and the growing media coverage.
Women’s Football Insights
1. How many Women footballer in UK? in Europe?
According to statistics from the end of last year, there are over 777,000 female footballers across the UK. A decade ago, figures released by the FA showed only 252,000 participants. In just ten years, the number of women involved in football has tripled, marking a significant achievement.
According to Statista, there were over 1.2 million registered female football players across Europe in 2017, with Germany having the highest proportion at 203,756.
2. How Many People Watching Women’s Football?
During last year's World Cup, over 29.9 million viewers worldwide tuned in to watch the event. According to a YouGov survey, after the Lionesses advanced to the knockout stage, 34% of British people were following their matches closely. On the other hand, the 2022-2023 season's WSL also attracted 15.3 million viewers globally, showing a significant increase of 30% from the previous year's 14.5 million.
3. How Many Women’s & Girl’s Football Teams
Currently, across the UK, there are over 12,600 women's football clubs at various levels, including youth development teams and academics. This number has seen a rapid surge since 2017 and doubled by 2020.
4. Women’s Football in Social Media
According to Broadcast and Telegraph reports, viewership of WSL-related content on TikTok has reached 150 million views. The coverage of women's football news in traditional media has seen a rapid increase. Previously, nearly 98% of football news was about men's football, with only 2% dedicated to women's football. However, in the past two years, this figure has risen sharply to nearly 10%, although there is still a significant gap compared to men's football.
