Levelling the pitch: How SMEs are targeting women football fans
For decades, marketers saw football through a male-dominated lens, but a new wave of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is tapping into growing interest in the women’s game.
Introduction
Women’s football has grown in stature in recent years, and at times it can compete with the men’s game for public attention. The success at European and world level of the England national team, the Lionesses, has driven widespread interest, with girls and women keen to attend the matches and contributing to a refreshing new environment for the sport.
But despite this success, overall, women remain underrepresented across the industry. Across the industry: 95% of coaches and 91% of referees are male,1 and in national federations just 2% of presidents and CEOs are female.2
Despite growing interest in and regular TV coverage of women’s matches, football sponsorship deals, advertising campaigns and fan engagement strategies predominantly target male fans of the men’s game. Fortunately, some businesses are stepping up to level the playing field.
Opening a new playbook
“The problem isn’t that women aren’t interested in sports. It’s that the current fan experience rarely reflects their culture, identity and lifestyle,” explains Cherry Beagles, CEO and founder of the 400 Club, one of a growing number of SMEs that recognise the skill, passion and spending power that women can bring to football.
The company helps brands create experiences and campaigns that connect with female football fans – specifically the 18-to-25 age group, who typically enjoy greater disposable income, display strong brand loyalty, and are motivated by social, experience-driven activities. But to engage this demographic, brands must move away from exclusively male-centric marketing models and develop strategies that speak directly to young women’s interests and cultural experience.
“These women often love the energy and storytelling of sport and identify with the athletes, but they don’t feel it’s marketed specifically for them,” Beagles explains.
The 400 Club advocates a fresh approach that intersects with women’s established cultural and social interests, such as music, beauty, fashion, community building and female-founded businesses.
This formula has attracted scores of big clients, including Nike, Sky Sports, Tottenham Hotspur Women and Chelsea FC Women. A recent campaign video for Arsenal Women on the day of its release gained 9.1 million engagements and tripled the club’s ticket sales. “And weirdly enough, we didn’t show any gameplay – no field, no football, just fan experience,” Beagles says.
The problem isn’t that women aren’t interested in sports. It’s that the current fan experience rarely reflects their culture, identity and lifestyle.
CEO and founder, the 400 Club
A female football culture
The soaring popularity of the women’s game emphasises the industry’s blind spot when it comes to marketing the matchday experience to a female audience. The growing female football fanbase is not an extension of the men’s game, but rather a distinct and evolving space with its own culture and significant commercial potential.
Despite this, while the men’s game benefits from established revenue streams and fine-tuned financial models, marketers and sponsors still see women’s football as an emerging market. As a result, female players often lack the resources, infrastructure and commercial investment that are taken for granted by men’s teams.
Mercury 13, a women’s football consortium, is challenging this male-centric model. Its CEO, Victoire Cogevina, is determined to unlock the commercial potential of women’s football, both for the players and for the businesses that support the game.
“Women have been sports consumers their whole lives,” says Cogevina. “It’s just that clubs have never really recognised them as such and have never really built any products to serve them. That’s what we’re doing at Mercury 13.”
As she builds a female-focused football ecosystem, Cogevina sees a unique opportunity for SMEs to engage with clubs through sponsorship and partnership deals, at a much lower entry cost than in the men’s game.
“If you’re a small business owner and you’re trying to bring a new product to the market, the women’s game is a great space to build that,” Cogevina says. “The women's game is much more accessible for small businesses, because there isn’t as much on the line, and [clubs] are already more open-minded in terms of the tools and technologies they use to innovate.”
Women have been sports consumers their whole lives. It’s just that clubs have never really recognised them as such and have never really built any products to serve them.
CEO, Mercury 13
The SME strategy
The good news is that a survey of more than 100 European clubs conducted by FedEx and the Financial Times found that while most clubs currently rely on larger suppliers, 85% aim to have SMEs making up at least 30% of their suppliers within the next three years. They cite the greater flexibility of working with smaller businesses as a top benefit.
Just under half of clubs mentioned reservations about SMEs’ capacity to manage and scale a working partnership. But Beagles argues that their small size gives them a greater authenticity in their commercial operations, a quality she says female consumers value in particular.
“SMEs are uniquely placed to unlock this new audience, because we live in the same cultural spaces as women typically do,” says Beagles. “We can speak directly to niche communities, and we can often build deeper trust than large institutions. We can also move faster and speak directly to this next generation of fans.”
Football’s next frontier
According to the FedEx/Financial Times study, nearly half (47%) of clubs believe SMEs offer greater creativity and innovation than larger companies. This creativity could be a key advantage as clubs look for ways to move beyond outdated, male-centric strategies.
The benefits are mutual. SMEs gain visibility, credibility and growth opportunities, while football clubs expand their fan bases and unlock new revenue streams. Forward-thinking SMEs can step into this growing space to ensure that football finally reflects the diversity of the supporters who love it.
Cogevina emphasises the size of this market: “There are millions of women out there on the periphery of sports who need to be welcomed and catered to. Everyone can take advantage of that opportunity.”
The business of football
Football isn’t just about what happens on matchday. These in-depth reads and success stories explain how technology, data analytics and commercial innovation are reshaping the sport behind the scenes.
A greener pitch: Can football clubs clean up their act?
The beautiful game has a dirty secret: it produces as much CO2 as some entire countries. Fans are clear that they want that to change, and clubs are responding by finding innovative ways to reduce their environmental impact.
A numbers game? How data science is changing football scouting
Football clubs are turning to data and analytics to improve the way they recruit players. And small businesses are stepping into the big leagues to give these clubs the specialist support they need.
Player of the match: Why football clubs view SMEs as their new star players
Everyone knows that football is big business. Now clubs are starting to recognise that smaller businesses can play their part in its success.
Breaking into the big league: How SMEs can score with football clubs
SMEs have a shot at winning more business from football clubs, new research shows. How do they make sure they hit the back of the net?
Why global football is going local
You might expect growing football clubs to be looking to partner with the biggest businesses they can find, but partnerships with local businesses also offer valuable benefits for both parties.
Discover what we can do for your business
Ship like a Champion across Europe
Get your goods around Europe with a broad range of reliable services and convenient customs support.
Feel the FedEx Effect on your business
Win the game through shipping solutions that match your every ambition. From small packages to one-tonne pallets, we deliver for your success.
Start your journey with FedEx
Not sure where to start? Head over to our Customer Centre to learn the ins and outs of shipping.