Women’s World Cup 2023 to net $307.92 million in annual sponsorship

Women’s soccer and sport in general is on the rise, enjoying a wave of popularity that is resulting in even greater commercial/brand interest. For the first time in the organizations history, FIFA has separated the commercial inventory for its Women’s World Cup 2023. FIFA has been active in signing new partnerships to this year’s event in Australia/New Zealand. The commercial portfolio of the world cup is currently linked to 20 main sponsors, worth an estimated $307.92 million a year, reveals GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s report, “Business of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023,” claims the tournament portfolio has signed 13 of the 20 brand partners since the start of 2022. The collective annual value of $307.92m predominantly derives from its biggest deals with the likes of Wanda, adidas and Coca-Cola, all of which are linked to larger rights to multiple tournaments with FIFA.

Jake Kemp, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Given the rise of the women’s game, it is an ideal time for FIFA to have split its competition commercial rights, with more brands than ever before determined to associate with women’s soccer. In doing this, FIFA has championed the need to promote and excel women’s soccer around the world and is understanding its value.

“This comes despite the organization initially scoring an own goal earlier this year, when it announced a tournament deal with Visit Saudi. The issues around gender inequality in Saudi Arabia are well documented and proved to be a bad look for FIFA, which was forced to quickly terminate the deal upon mass global backlash. It highlights the need for better vetting processes with its sponsorship rights in the future, with more concern for brands to partner with the rights type of partners and not just the highest paying.”

Away from the ill-fated addition of Visit Saudi, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 has been able to attract huge commercial attention from many of the biggest names in the global market. Within this portfolio is a huge American influence, with brands like Budweiser, Frito-Lay and McDonalds all heavily involved. VISA and Xero are the two brands which have committed specifically to growing women’s soccer, named as ‘women’s soccer partners’.

Kemp concludes: “GlobalData expects the growth of women’s soccer to continue in the coming years, but the selling of commercial rights with the 2023 World Cup appears to be a significant step taken for women’s sport in general. As the organizers commit harder to the evolution of the game, it has a knock-on effect, with more money being channelled throughout the sport which only elevates the standards and interest in the sport itself. Expect women’s soccer only to grow over the next decade, with even greater commercial revenue expected at future competitions and even greater brand commitment.”

All data taken from GlobalData Sport platform, with further insights and analysis available on GlobalData’s ‘The Business of the women’s World Cup 2023’