But there were calls on Monday to ensure the inevitable surge in interest and funding also trickles down to grassroots level, including ensuring women’s teams do not continue to suffer from unsociable pitch times or remote venues with poor public access . transport. A record 17 million viewers watched England’s 2-1 win over Germany, making it the most-watched women’s football match in British television history and the most popular televised event of the year. Another 87,192 fans saw them live at Wembley Stadium. James Herring, consumer brand and PR expert and co-founder of agency Taylor Herring, said these figures matter. “If you’re a big brand and you’re thinking of investing millions in sports sponsorship, you need to know that there’s going to be a return on your investment from bums in the seats and eyes on the matches and this tournament has done that… They’ve done it broke. It was great,” he said. The team will reportedly receive £55,000 in bonuses each, totaling £1.3m, for winning the competition as part of a deal with the Football Association (FA). This is in addition to a reported £2,000 per match in appearance fees. Brands have already flocked to the team, with right-back Lucy Bronze landing deals with Pepsi and Visa, for example, but this is expected to be just the beginning. “I think the sponsorship values ​​for the Lionesses will increase tenfold from what they can expect to be bankable from commercial values,” Herring said. He estimates the team’s sponsorship value will now be in the hundreds of millions of pounds, while individual players could expect to have deals worth millions. “The people who have stood out in this tournament will be the first pool of contact for brands. from the goalscorers, the gamechangers in these key matches and those who have something about them in their own personality.” Mark Borkowski, a PR consultant and author, agreed that when it comes to authenticity, the top players on the team are worth millions. “The team is very strong and make no mistake, we will celebrate it as much as we celebrate the 1966 World Cup victory,” he said. David Alexander, founder and CEO of sports PR agency Calacus, said many brands have been slow to support overall and will be eager to catch up. “England women’s football has been on a positive trajectory in recent years, particularly with new sponsorship and broadcasting deals investing significantly in the game,” he said. “Hopefully this will have an impact on endorsements and player contracts that see professional players approach the incomes enjoyed by men for decades.” For Yvonne Harrison, chief executive of Women in Football, it is vital that the grassroots groups that support women’s football also benefit financially. “We’re not going to get the depth in terms of league players and super league players without having a growing base at the bottom,” he said. AFC Leyton representative Louise McGing, who in 2021 was a finalist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero award, agrees. “Brands need to create their own market by investing in the next generation of elite footballers at a grassroots level,” he said. “That means not obsessing over ROI [return on investment] and ticket and attendance numbers, but we’re thinking about the big game and the bigger picture around what that might mean for football, their legacy and their own brand.” Sophia Axelsson, general manager of AFC Wimbledon Women, added that the sustainability of these sponsorships and partnerships across the board is vital to ensure the sport is as accessible as possible. He said: “To be able to develop women’s football in England, this money cannot stay at the top. There will be a continued lack of diversity and inclusion if the money stays only with these top teams.” The biggest financial hurdle is finding affordable places to play and practice, Axelsson added. This issue is particularly acute in large cities and urban areas where the long-standing men’s team is prioritized, McGing added, with women’s teams often offered hard-to-reach stadiums or slots at unsociable times. Harrison hopes the change at the top will be felt at the bottom. He said: “The women’s football community seems to be quite unique in that they want everyone to benefit and everyone to grow. It doesn’t seem like an elitist sport that’s for the few.” Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST As for individual players with rising profiles, the women’s game has an opportunity to avoid the pitfalls seen in the men’s game, said Doug Reed, managing director at Player4Player, an organization set up by former internationals and Premier League players to guide and to empower football players. “We see it in the men’s game. So many players have great careers and earn a lot of money but then, because of bad advice, they end their careers and have little to show for it,” he said. Reed hopes to see the strong community spirit in women’s football maintained and scaled up so that players are supported throughout their careers and not treated as expendable when the spotlight moves on.