The future of women’s football report: the changes Elle can expect to see
Following her stand-out performances in 2019, Elle is thrilled to be preparing for her second World Cup, this time in Australia and New Zealand. Elle is proud to have played her part in the continued development of women’s football since the last world cup and is more optimistic about the future than ever before - not only for herself, but the future of the women’s game in general.
Scrolling on her phone, she sees that Karen Carney MBE’s report on the future of women’s football in England has been published and is eager to see what changes she can expect in the next decade in her sport.
The review began in September 2022, following the recommendation of the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance (the “FLR”). The FLR stated that, “given the many, but interconnected, issues affecting a meaningful future for women’s football needing to be addressed and resolved successfully, the future of women’s football should receive its own dedicated review”.
Reading the report, Raising the bar - reframing the opportunity in women's football (the “Report”), Elle sees that there are four key areas of the industry in which there is a critical need to raise standards.
The four key areas are:
the corporate structures required to generate an environment that maximises investment opportunities,
reframing minimum standards for the professional environment,
raising the bar on fan experience, and
driving momentum and accountability in the grassroots game.
In order to achieve these four goals, the Report makes ten strategic recommendations across areas ranging from corporate governance and media rights exploitation to fan engagement and diversity; with a few salient features that stood out to Elle below:
Corporate structure
The clear objective is to encourage The FA and other stakeholders in the men’s game to support the development of independent self-regulation of the women’s games. This is intended to ensure that the women’s professional football will be a financially sustainable, competitively compelling game.
The Report is clear that it envisages a separate league NewCo being the major controlling party. Whether NewCo would itself be controlled by the clubs being the shareholders (as we see in the Premier League and EFL) is not touched upon, but if this was the case then it may be hard to avoid repeating perceived challenges seen in the men’s game where a lack of independence between clubs and league have been perceived to limit effective governance, ultimately leading to the FLR and subsequent White Paper.
There is a hope that the women’s game can learn from the men’s and can incorporate the kind of financial regulation and governance infrastructure that the FLR now recommends for the men’s game.
Player services
The Report recommends improvements in the facilities, benefits, and services offered to players. These include:
The introduction of a salary floor, following the example of leagues in Spain, Italy, the US and Australia.
Maternity provisions and a recommendation that the FA conducts an in-depth analysis of the success of its current maternity policies with the aim of delivering best-in-class parental packages to players in the Women’s Super League (the “WSL”) and the Women’s Championship (the “WC”).
Fan experience
To further increase fan engagement, the Report proposes:
That leagues and broadcasters in the men’s game carve out a dedicated broadcast slot for WSL and WC games. This could prove difficult in light of deals such as the EFL’s new broadcast deal for the 2024/25 season which will see more than 1,000 EFL games broadcast each season. Coupled with an expanded Club World Cup and other increase in football broadcast, it could prove hard to find an agreed slot for the women’s game to flourish. However, as we have seen in the men’s game it is broadcast revenue that ultimately will drive growth in standards, and so the Report is right to recognise this as a key are for focussed efforts.
To improve the fans’ matchday experience. Here, the recommendations of the FLR are looked to as the Report recommends that all clubs should ensure that the recommendations in the White Paper with regards to fan engagement should be delivered on, with meaningful representation for fans for women’s teams.
That the FA expands and reforms its club licensing criteria by ensuring that requirements surrounding safety, strategy and marketing are extended to the women’s game.
Grassroots football
The grassroots game is considered crucial to the future of women’s football and the Report targets an accessible, safe, positive, welcoming, and inclusive environment for young girls to participate in. Specifically, the Report:
Recognises that the Government has already made commitments to encouraging access and participation in school sport for girls and urges the Government to deliver on these promises.
Recommends, at industry level, that The FA, Premier League and Football Foundation should create a revised strategy to offer targeted facilities funding for the entire women’s football pyramid.
Conclusions
Elle hopes to have many more years left of her football career and so these changes will directly affect her as and when they are implemented in the future.
The changes in Corporate Structure can create opportunities to incorporate financial regulation and governance infrastructure, improving on the perceived challenges in the men’s game, promoting independence and self-regulation.
Elle noted that the introduction of a salary floor could result in the improvement in performance of her teammates. She knows that many of them often compromise their physical and mental well-being by working other jobs to support themselves.
Further, if Elle decides to have children, she is glad to know that she will be supported through maternity provisions when its reformed policies come into play.
Elle’s followers have been invaluable to her throughout her career so far, her social media accounts continue to grow, and she hopes to use her ‘influencer’ status to support women’s football. With expanded broadcasting and improved fan experience, she is hoping that she can be beneficial in the growth of her sport by raising this profile.
Elle hopes that beyond the red-carpet events, she can be an asset to the grassroots game and encourage more young girls of all ages and abilities to play football.