A decision by the BBC and Sky to invest £8m a year in the Women’s Super League puts the sport on a far stronger footing
In one sense it’s been a long time coming. Advocates of women’s football in England spent most of the last decade pushing for broadcasters and the Football Association to take the game more seriously. Nearly £20m of sponsorship investment by Barclays was a breakthrough. But regular attendances at matches have never taken off in the way that enthusiasts hoped, and longstanding clubs including the Doncaster Belles fell by the wayside when they were relegated.
Big television audiences and unprecedented levels of interest, particularly in the winning US team, ensured that the 2019 World Cup was heralded as a turning point. But the arrival of the pandemic meant that progress was checked. This week’s announcement of a £24m investment in women’s football over three years, by the BBC and Sky Sports, is the culmination of a process that has taken years. But the sheer difficulty of current circumstances, including the unfairness of pandemic rules that have seen girls’ football stopped while boys’ has continued, means that it has also come as a shock.
