Trophy Women? was produced by the Commission on the Future of Women's Sport in...
This latest report from the Commission on the Future of Women’s Sport shows that women’s sport represents a great opportunity for switched-on investors.
A team of leading figures including Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE, Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson and Head of England Women's Cricket Clare Connor have all leant their support to the findings that reveal strong demand from UK sports fans for greater coverage of women’s sport, but which also show that the commercial sport sector is failing to capitalise on the opportunities presented by this fast-growing and uncluttered market.
50% of sports fans say women’s sport is on the way up, considerably more so than men’s (36%). 44% believe the quality of women’s sport is much better than 10 years ago, 54% feel women’s sport is just as exciting as men’s and 61% of sports fans state that they would watch more women’s sport if it were televised. Yet while the perception of women’s sport is high, this does not correlate with the levels of investment from the commercial sector via sponsorship and the report suggests brands are missing out on a captive and valuable market.
These are the findings of a ground breaking new report published today by the Commission on the Future of Women’s Sport. PrimeTime: The case for commercial investment in women’s sport, that highlights the opportunity for the commercial sector, rights holders, broadcasters and government to work together to capitalise on a market that has great potential but remains under leveraged.
Comments in support of the report include:
Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport: "Many of the international successes that British teams have enjoyed in the last few years have been down to women. Just last year the England women’s cricket team and athlete Jessica Ennis became world champions, and our women’s football team was runners up in the European Championships. These successes should encourage more commercial sponsors to look to women’s sport. London 2012 gives us a fantastic opportunity to put sportswomen in the spotlight, inspiring millions of women and girls to get more active - and businesses can play a key part in helping us to achieve this.”
Chair of the Commission, Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE said: “I sincerely hope that the findings within our report act as a rallying call to all the stakeholders within British sport. Whilst it is alarming to consider the lack of commercial investment and marketing that goes behind women’s sport at all levels, it is also clear that the sporting public want more content, so there is an attractive customer base out there for rights-holders and commercial brands to engage with.”
