The Women’s Super League of England is aiming to become the world’s first billion-pound women’s soccer league within the next decade, according to the chair of the WSL’s board.
The WSL and the Women’s Championship are currently run by The Football Association, but there are plans in motion to make the leagues independent and run by the clubs under a new structure called ‘NewCo.’
The WSL recently secured its first commercial broadcast deal worth around eight million pounds per season, with expectations for a more lucrative agreement after the upcoming campaign commences on October 1st.
With the women’s game gaining immense popularity, especially after England’s Lionesses won the Euros and reached the World Cup finals, chair Dawn Airey is confident that the WSL, in partnership with the Championship, has the potential to become the most lucrative women’s soccer league in the world.
Speaking at the launch of the new WSL season in north-west London, Airey stated that the goal is to increase finances at every level and develop a pathway that requires investment.
She added that their plans for the new governance structure of ‘NewCo’ are still underway, with select CEOs from WSL and Championship clubs included in the leadership to ensure that the semi-professional second tier also benefits from new investments.
Airey emphasized the need for a close relationship with the lower leagues to avoid a revenue-governance split like the one between the men’s Premier League and the English Football League’s lower tiers.
The plan is to hand over governance of the leagues to the clubs for the 2024-25 season.
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The WSL’s current domestic broadcast deal with the BBC and Sky Sports will end after this season, and the league will negotiate a new agreement once the Premier League has agreed on its new TV rights package, to avoid clashing publicity.
Airey stated that the league plans to go to market for a new deal before the end of the year, once the Premier League has completed its market process.
She expressed confidence that the tenders would be assessed quickly, as all interested parties would be assessed.
Sue Campbell, the FA’s Director of Women’s Football, also attended the launch and stated that while it was their aim to introduce VAR into the WSL, it would take time to ensure that all clubs had the infrastructure necessary.
She emphasized that investment in the game was critical to its growth and development.
Campbell also stated that the FA would be cautious in selecting commercial partners for the women’s game, citing FIFA’s earlier consideration of ‘Visit Saudi’ as a sponsor for the Women’s World Cup as an example.
She assured reporters that the FA would exercise extra caution when selecting commercial partners for the women’s game.
