The Women’s Euro tournament kicked off on 2 July, with 31 matches to be played between 16 competing nations across eight venues in Switzerland, ahead of the final on 27 July.

Thanks to the rapid growth of women’s football as a spectacle, the competition is set to be one of the biggest of its kind. As of June 2025, more than 570,000 of the 673,000 available tickets had been sold, putting the contest on track to beat the tournament attendance record set at Euro 2022 of 574,875 attendees.

In turn, this rise in popularity has also created new earning opportunities for female footballers (and athletes as a whole), especially in sponsorship and merchandising. So, taking steps to capitalise on this growth could be a sensible financial decision that helps you secure your long-term future.

With this in mind, it is also crucial to proactively plan financially so that you can make the most of this growth. Women’s football could be set to enter a new era of broader visibility, meaning athletes have access to a whole range of opportunities, provided they act strategically.

Read about how women’s football has grown, why Euro 2025 is a big moment for the game, and how you can capitalise on opportunities now while unlocking even more for the future.

 

Euro 2025 is a big moment in the commercial landscape of women’s football

Euro 2025 is hugely significant when considered in the context of the commercial growth of the women’s game.

Interest in women’s football has rapidly increased in recent years, both in terms of fans and interest from sponsors. In fact, Nielsen research found that there are now around 500 million women’s football fans globally, projected to rise to 800 million by 2030.

This increase in eyeballs on the sport is attracting more sponsors, too. Nielsen found that the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup sponsorships tripled compared to the previous contest in 2019.

 

Increased sponsorship opportunities present new, larger revenue streams for female athletes

Within a market that looks set for continued growth in the next few years, female athletes now have greater freedom to command better wages and more lucrative endorsement, sponsorship, and merchandising deals. This is especially important when the salaries that women can earn from playing football are far lower than what men receive.

According to FourFourTwo, the average Premier League salary is £60,000 a week. Yet, in the Women’s Super League, this is just £47,000 a year – £900 a week.

Globally, the difference is even more stark, with the average annual salary of a female professional player standing at £8,400. As a result, sponsorship earnings are going to be crucial for building wealth.

This is the route that Lionesses legend Lucy Bronze has pursued, signing deals with brands including Pepsi, EE, and Visa to help her build wealth.

Similarly, former USA striker and national team co-captain Alex Morgan’s earnings show just how effectively this can work. In a Forbes list of the highest-paid female athletes in world sport, Morgan came in 16th, with an income of $7.6 million. But crucially, on-field earnings generated just $0.6 million of her income, with off-field activities providing $7 million.

In particular, Morgan’s sponsorships and endorsements contribute significantly to her wealth. In 2022, she was the most endorsed female athlete, even surpassing Serena Williams in the number of deals she signed.

So, although female athletes typically cannot earn as much as their male counterparts for their performances on the pitch, sponsorship and deals off it could be an effective path to building wealth.

 

Building a personal brand that sponsors want to work with

Of course, knowing that sponsorships are important is half the battle – it is much more important to understand how to get them.

For many sponsors, this comes down to female athletes’ personal brands. Companies need to see that players represent values such as:

• Authenticity
• Leadership
• Community impact

Looking back to Alex Morgan, the USA co-captain fostered a family-focused, down-to-earth persona. She did this through activities such as writing to her younger self for the Players’ Tribune, and starting the Alex Morgan Foundation to advocate for girls and women in sport, at home, and in the community.

Such pursuits led her to become SportsPro’s fifth most marketable footballer in the world in 2024, listed after only Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, and Jude Bellingham.

Female athletes need to create a personal brand in this way to attract sponsorship. From supporting local causes and advocating for girls and women like Morgan, to regularly posting on social media, all these activities can help curate an image that sponsors want to work with.

 

Considering media opportunities, both now and in future

As events such as Women’s Euro 2025 become more popular, the media coverage increases with it. So, alongside sponsorship, the other area that female players can benefit from is media rights and exposure.

Having greater visibility in the media, both on television and online, can translate into higher commercial value – indeed, Alex Morgan has almost 10 million followers on Instagram, and nearly 6 million on Facebook, no doubt playing a part in her annual income.

Being in the public eye and comfortable with this exposure could also be beneficial later in life after playing professionally, when players might explore media careers in punditry and commentary.

Athletes can prepare for this transition now by thinking about media training and educating themselves in this area. That way, the shift from playing to commentary can be smoother, providing another source of income.

As the women’s game grows, so too will media opportunities. So, it is sensible to be well-placed to take advantage of them.

 

The challenges that female athletes face also make it important to plan for the future

It is worth remembering that while female football has grown, women still face specific challenges in building wealth for the future.

Not only do they contend with lower wages than men, but while the commercial landscape is changing, it makes earnings unpredictable.

Additionally, women face the added complication of family planning, and the career break that may come from having and raising children.

Female players in the top two tiers of English women’s football have only been entitled to maternity pay above the statutory minimum since 2022. Now, these players get 100% of their weekly wage for the first 14 weeks of their maternity.

But, this is the type of consideration that makes the landscape very different for female players. So, with the specific challenges women can face and the comparatively lower rate of pay to men, it makes it all the more important to pursue opportunities, secure your finances as far as possible, and take steps such as budgeting, investing, and planning for your retirement.

 

Taking professional advice can ensure female athletes make the most of their increased earnings

There will be lucrative opportunities for female footballers and athletes as women’s sport becomes more popular. But crucially, it will be important to make sensible financial decisions and think long term so they can make the most of this increased income.

Athletes will need to put measures in place that ensure they can:

• Maximise their higher earnings by negotiating lucrative deals and effectively understanding and managing contracts
• Prepare for periods of uncertainty and fluctuating cash flow, setting money aside to deal with these times
• Enjoy their wealth now while saving and investing for the future to secure their long-term financial security
• Diversify their income through strategic investment or post-career ventures, such as businesses, to continually grow their earnings
• Mitigate tax so they can be the biggest beneficiary of their work on the pitch and their commercial deals off it.

In all these areas and more, this is where early, proactive financial advice can be valuable. By working with a professional financial planner, athletes can put measures in place that help them manage their income throughout their playing careers and beyond.

If you would like to work with an experienced team who understand the challenges that footballers face, contact us at ProSport.

We are the trusted partner for many athletes, helping them navigate their careers and make the most of the shifting commercial environment so they can build long-term wealth.

Email enquiries@prosportwealth.co.uk or call 01204 602909 to find out how we can help you.

 

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax planning.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.