EVERYONE IS WELCOME
THE USA IS A KEY MARKET W hile there is interest in the women’s game in all the markets we
INTEREST AND ENGAGEMENT IN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL IS HIGHER IN THE USA THAN ANY OTHER MARKET SURVEYED Behaviours & attitudes to women’s football amongst US fans
in Europe, with clubs having a relatively shorter history. However, the huge success of the USA Women’s National Team (USWNT) – FIFA Women’s World Cup winners in 1991, 1999, 2015, 2019, and Olympic gold medallists in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012 – has meant that the profile of women’s football in general has been high, with some players becoming national celebrities outside of sport, such as Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm, Hope Solo and Kristine Lilly, all of whom have made inroads into establishing their own media careers worldwide. Some of their top stars, including Rapinoe, Morgan, and Carli Lloyd, have proved themselves important footballing and commercial assets to clubs in Europe as well. As a result the USA represents a key audience for women’s football, and for European clubs looking to promote and increase fandom for their women’s team. n
tested, some markets present bigger opportunities than others. Of all markets, football followers in the USA were the most interested and engaged with the women’s
75%
58%
19%
game. This isn’t surprising – women’s football has been
established for decades in the USA, with Title IX ensuring equal funding for sport for girls and women in educational establishments, leading to a competitive, high- quality college game and thus the very best players from around the world attracted to the USA for their tertiary study. Their professional leagues have had a chequered and often precarious existence, but the current NWSL set-up, with teams awarded licences to compete, is operating successfully and expanding into new geographical markets. Football club fandom for the men’s and women’s game in the USA contrasts markedly with the traditions of football fandom
20
l HAVE SHOPPED/ BROWSED FOR MERCHANDISE
l INTERESTED IN WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
l HAVE WATCHED WOMEN’S FOOTBALL ON TV
61%
71%
72%
l THINK EVERY CLUB SHOULD HAVE A WOMEN’S TEAM
l THINK THEIR WOMEN’S CLUB IS AS IMPORTANT AS THEIR MEN’S CLUB
l FANS SHOULD DO MORE TO SUPPORT
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Source: ECA/MTM Sport Future of Fandom tracker, July 2022, QA1. Thinking about how you’ve followed football in the last month, how interested or uninterested have you been in each of the following types or forms of football? QA2. And thinking again about all forms of football, in which, if any, of the following ways did you engage with football in the last month? QY6. To
what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All football fans in the US, May 2022 to July 2022: Total (912)
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