Women In Sports: Growth, Investments, And The way To Equality

Women in sports have seen a great transformation in the last few years. Female athletes are getting equal recognition for their work. But what does the future hold? Here is a look at both past and present, and how these are good signs for all women athletes.

Reasons behind the growth

One primary reason women’s sports are growing is the coverage. Due to free-to-air television, the media coverage and broadcasting of some major events have increased. Earlier, women’s sports had very minimal coverage.

Paris Olympics 2024 was the first major event to feature an equal number of male and female athletes. It was also ensured that both males and females get proper screen time so that no prime events get missed.

Women in sports: From individual to team growth

Various female athletes have already made a name for themselves, mostly in athletics and sports like tennis. Female players like Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and a few others are known personalities worldwide.

Over time, team sports have seen a significant rise in the viewership. In 2022, Barcelona women and Wolfsburg women faced each other in a football match. There were nearly 92,000 spectators to witness this match.

Investment in women’s sports

Getting investment in women’s sports is not easy. There is still a huge difference in men’s and women’s sports investment. Women’s sports just get 10% of sponsorship deals, 15% of media coverage and only a fraction of broadcasters’ rights fees.

According to a report by Deloitte, women sports saw a 300% growth in 2024 from the last three years. Around $1.28 billion global revenue was generated.

Women’s sports have evolved, but bringing investments is not easy. People are hesitant to put their money mostly due to unproven business returns, financial constraints, and lack of awareness in total reach.

Rising Investments in Women’s Sports: A Global Shift

Sports like cricket have experienced some big investments in the last 4-5 years. Cricket has seen a significant growth in the last few years. They are looking to spread the game globally. All the top nations in cricket have a good grassroots setup. This has given confidence to the investors.

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In India, WPL is hosted every year. This is similar to IPL and all teams are sold to different franchises. This has become a huge platform for Indian as well as global superstars. Other nations like England, Australia, New Zealand, and a few others also host women’s tournaments.

Football is another sport that has witnessed a lot of investments in the last 2 decades. Clubs across the globe have their own women’s teams. This has produced more female players and expanded the game globally.

Equal pay

Equal pay in sports is one of the biggest topics discussed. But paying the same amount to both male and female athletes is not easy. Men’s sports have a lot of sponsorship as well as viewership. They generate a huge amount of revenue in comparison to women’s sports.

Sports like tennis have introduced equal pay in all major tournaments. Norway also became the first nation in 2017 to offer equal pay to male and female football players in international games. USA is another nation that has introduced equal pay in some of the sports.

Paying equally will be a huge challenge for every nation. However, taking small steps can slowly lead towards this.