Why Women’s Football Is Becoming Institutional Investors’ Next Big Opportunity
For the last decade, the investment case around women’s football was built largely around one word: potential. Audiences were growing, participation was increasing and media coverage was expanding. But for institutional investors, promising growth metrics alone were not enough to justify significant investment.
That is now beginning to change.
Over the last few seasons, women’s football has started to produce commercial evidence to support the growth story that many have seen developing for years.
The 15 highest-revenue women’s clubs generated €158 million during the 2024/25 season. Arsenal Women led the ranking with €25.6 million in revenue, followed by Chelsea Women at €25.4 million and FC Barcelona Femení at €22 million.
In England, the Women’s Super League generated £90 million in revenue in 2024/25, up 39% from £65 million the previous season.
These numbers may still appear relatively small compared with the elite of men’s football. But that is not the correct way to look at it. The more interesting question for investors is how much value can still be created as women’s football continues to grow and professionalise over the coming years.
The Growth Story Is Becoming a Commercial One
Commercial revenue is already becoming the key driver behind this growth.
Across the 15 highest-revenue women’s clubs, 72% of revenue came from commercial sources in 2024/25.
The same trend can be seen in England, where the most competitive league of women’s football is played. The WSL’s commercial revenue increased by £15 million to reach the figure of £41 million in 2024/25. Matchday revenue also grew 16% to £14 million, while broadcast revenue increased 11% to £11 million.
This is important because the investment argument becomes considerably stronger when audience growth starts translating into actual revenue. UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 was perhaps the clearest signal to investors and the footballing world that women’s football is growing at a rapid rate that cannot be ignored.
The tournament attracted a record 657,291 spectators, with 35% of those spectators travelling from outside Switzerland, representing a group of 167 nationalities. More importantly from a business perspective, sponsorship revenue increased 150% compared with EURO 2022, while the event had 412 million global live cumulative audience across more than 169 territories.
It has always been clear that women’s football has had growing audiences. The difference now is that those audiences are increasingly translating into sponsorship, ticketing, merchandise and media revenue. That is what makes this growth something special.
The Valuation Opportunity
The second part of the investment case is valuation.
In May 2025, Alexis Ohanian acquired a 10% stake in Chelsea Women for £20 million, with the club sitting at a valuation of approximately £200 million.
A year earlier, Angel City FC was valued at $250 million when Willow Bay and Bob Iger agreed to become controlling owners, alongside a commitment to invest an additional $50 million into the club.
These are still significant valuations for investors to meet, but compared with the valuations of elite men’s football clubs, there is a lot to potentially gain.
Women’s football, despite its recent growth, still remains at a much earlier stage of commercial development than elite men’s football. But this signifies an incredible opportunity. Investment into women’s football now means investors can potentially gain exposure to assets before revenues such as media rights, matchday income, hospitality and sponsorship have reached maturity and before financial barriers to entry become too difficult to meet.
The real advantage for investors is not simply entering at a lower price, but investing in a market where there is still significant room to grow revenues, improve operations and build long-term value.
The Real Investment Opportunity Is Professionalisation
However, simply acquiring a women’s football club and waiting for the market to grow around you is not enough to lead to a successful investment. The bigger opportunity, and what the world’s top clubs have done, is professionalise the infrastructure around the team and club.
Arsenal and Chelsea show two different approaches.
Arsenal has used its wider club infrastructure and the Emirates Stadium to grow matchday revenues, generating €7 million in 2024/25 and recording crowds above 35,000 on five occasions. Arsenal Women have adopted a strategy where they are seen as one with the famous men’s team. This has been done to show unity and build credibility with the club.
Chelsea, another leading women’s team, has taken a more independent and individual approach. Its strategic growth plan from the club’s board specifically prioritised investment in infrastructure, training facilities and player development, while giving the women’s team dedicated resources and management.
Chelsea is now also moving all Women’s Super League home matches to Stamford Bridge from 2026/27, which could lead to higher matchday revenue and more credibility around the club, another significant step in strengthening the infrastructure around the team.
The Next Phase of the Opportunity
Women’s football is clearly moving in the right direction, and because of this growth, the product has entered a new stage of its development.
The growth in audiences, sponsorship and revenues has created the commercial foundation to build an industry that can rival its men’s counterpart. But the next phase of this growth will be about what clubs and investors do with that momentum.
The strongest opportunities will not simply be the teams attached to the biggest brands that their men’s teams have created. They will be the clubs that take the care to build the right infrastructure, professionalise their operations and create sustainable ways to turn growing interest into long-term revenue.
That is what makes this moment in women’s football so interesting.
Women’s football is no longer just an emerging market with exciting potential. It has now become a serious investment opportunity, and the investors who understand how to capitalise on and build the infrastructure around that growth will be best positioned to capture its long-term value.
Sources
Deloitte. (2026, January 22). Deloitte Football Money League – Women’s: Innovate to Grow. https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/services/consulting-financial/analysis/deloitte-football-money-league-women.html
Deloitte. (2026, July 8). Annual Review of Football Finance: Women’s Super League clubs. https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/services/consulting/research/annual-review-of-football-finance-womens-super-league.html
UEFA. (2026, July). UEFA Women’s EURO 2025: Post-Tournament Impact Report. https://documents.uefa.com/api/khub/documents/HmK2r5ZQhxJopAkfuyIzIQ/content
BBC Sport. (2025, May 14). Alexis Ohanian: Reddit founder and Serena Williams’ husband buys stake in Chelsea Women. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cn05x60p8dro
Angel City FC. (2024, July 17). Willow Bay and Bob Iger to become Angel City’s new controlling owners. https://angelcity.com/acfc-post/angel-city-ownership-agreement-announcement
Chelsea Football Club. (2024, May 29). Chelsea Women announces strategic growth plan. https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/chelsea-women-announces-strategic-growth-plan
Chelsea Football Club. (2026, April 22). Chelsea FC Women to call Stamford Bridge home: A new era begins. https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/article/chelsea-fc-women-to-call-stamford-bridge-home-a-new-era-begins