Building on the success and fervour of the 2022 tournament, England’s Lionesses head to Switzerland in July to defend their title.
The task ahead of them will not be straightforward: they are placed in the so-called ‘Group of Death’ alongside the highly rated France and Netherlands sides. England will also compete against Wales in the ‘Battle of Britain’. Wales have qualified for the first time.
What is clear is that the national interest and support for the English Women’s National side has never been greater. Women’s professional football continues to go from strength to strength. This is quantified in many ways, including:
- Prize money: For the first time, players will receive a direct share of the prize money. UEFA has increased the total prize fund to €41 million—a 156% rise from the previous tournament. Participating national associations are mandated to allocate between 30% and 40% of their prize earnings directly to the players.
- Event sponsorship: UEFA have significant sponsorship deals with household brands, including: adidas, Amazon, AXA, Booking.com, EA Sports, Euronics,, Heineken, Hublot, Just Eat, Lay’s, Lidl, PlayStation, Visa, and Unilever
- TV viewing audiences: the 2022 final between England and Germany, where Chloe Kelly scored the winner in extra time to guide the Lionesses to an incredible 2-1 victory, peaked at 17.4m individuals in the UK.
As the women’s professional game thrives, so does female grassroots football. It is estimated by the FA that the number of women’s or girls amateur teams has doubled in the past 7 years.
At Gift of Kit, we enable brands and businesses of all shapes and sizes to put their support for grassroots sport into meaningful action. Euro 2022 Partners Just Eat and Starling Bank have both run significant programmes; building legacies from their official UEFA partnerships by collectively providing sponsored kit for over 1,000 female teams.
From official partners, to household brands, to community focussed businesses; whatever your motivation is to support grassroots sport, at Gift of Kit, we build bespoke programmes to fit your brief and budget.