Across the 2023-24 soccer campaign the top 15 ranked women’s soccer clubs (by a Deloitte survey) generated over €100 million ($103.1 million) combined in revenue for the first time in history, the financial services firm has revealed.
The 15 clubs generated cumulative revenue of €116.6 million across that campaign, a growth of 35% on the 2022-23 figure.
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This was once again led by Spanish soccer giants Barcelona, with that club's women's team generating €17. 9 million in revenue, leading the table for a third consecutive season through a 26% increase year-on-year (YoY).
This was closely followed by England’s Arsenal, who also made €17.9 million.
Overall, English sides dominated the list with eight of the 15 places taken by Women’s Super League (WSL) sides.
Chelsea (3rd), Manchester United (4th), Manchester City (6th), Aston Villa (7th), Liverpool (8th), Tottenham Hotspur (11th), and Everton (12th) all appeared in the top 15 alongside Arsenal in second.
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By GlobalDataBy comparison, Spanish (FC Barcelona Femeni, real Madrid Femenino) and German teams (Eintracht Frankfurt Frauen, Bayern Munich Frauen) are each represented twice, alongside one team each from France (Paris Saint-Germain Feminine), Portugal, (SL Benfica Femenino) and Norway (SK Brann Kvinner).
This gulf is primarily explained through differences in sponsorship revenue, with Barclays' money-spinning coverage of the WSL, called the “biggest deal in women’s domestic soccer history”, putting even its lesser teams into the higher realms of European revenue.
Commercial partner revenue accounted for 66% of the overall revenue across the 15 clubs, with broadcast and matchday revenue by comparison each accounting for 17%.
Speaking on the results, Deloitte Sports Business Group lead partner Tim Bridge stated: “The 35% growth in revenues across the 2023/24 season is an impressive reflection of the growth of women’s football across some of its leading markets. Investors and leaders are now looking beyond just revenues and increasing their focus towards the sustainability and growth of clubs.
“Commercial partners and broadcasters are now recognizing the growing profile of the women’s game and increasing their investment, in turn attracting greater and more diverse audiences in new addressable markets.
“The expansion of the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup demonstrates the demand for more games and competition. Pairing this with developing existing competitions, the introduction of new governance, and further investment can supercharge the participation in, professionalization, and popularity of the women's game for the long-term.”
Deloitte Sports Business Group knowledge and insight lead Jennifer Haskel added: “It is clear that the women’s game is growing rapidly across metrics including and beyond revenue. While women’s clubs have traditionally been compared to, or expected to mirror, the structure and business of men’s clubs, we are seeing a fundamental shift in the recognition of opportunity that stems from embracing key differences.
“By doing so, the industry has an opportunity to set the future direction of the game, for its players and fans, but also to drive revenues and better the sport itself.”
Where previous years did not, these figures account for “group income”, which in effect is money attributed to the women’s team that has come from club-wide income, such as club-wide sponsorship agreements and funding dispensed to the women’s side from the men’s side.
Furthermore, the list only takes into account a few countries, namely; England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Brazil, and Japan.
Crucially this omits the US, a women’s soccer powerhouse, where revenue statistics were not made available to Deloitte, with Australia and Sweden among other major countries left out.
