The Women's Football Finance Podcast

In this episode, the TWFFP team delve into the financial landscape of the often overlooked middle tiers of English women's football. In the spotlight are Chorley Women, a Tier 4 club with a humble budget but ambitious plans to drive revenue growth in order to push the team further along the professionalisation curve and higher up the pyramid. New club Chair, Jonny Slater, shares details of the club's strategy to grow sustainably and goes full 'open kimono' in sharing the club's detailed financial forecast for the 24/25 season.

Val, Dave, and Steve share their take (and Chorley management’s first reaction) to the FA's new proposals to expand tiers 3 through 6 of the English women's pyramid and allow Professional Game Academy teams to parachute directly into Tier 4.

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To kick off 2025, Val, Dave and Steve catch up on some of women’s football business news both big and small, from NWSL free agency to the un-naming of BOS Nation to WSL Panini sticker books. 

The hosts are then joined by Associate Professor and football finance expert, Christina Philippou, who shares her knowledge of the football club valuation process and the key price adjustments buyers make to reflect differences between clubs — and how it all applies to women’s football teams in Europe.

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Val and Steve recap the big business & finance stories of the year in the world of global Women's Football. We catch up on attendance numbers, big efforts by Football Confederations, a new CBA in Spain, big gains in Australia, and other country-specific news around the USA, England, and beyond.

Then, Steve explains why he thinks Michele Kang is a big deal for the growth and future of women's football, with her investments going well beyond the clubs themselves. And Val highlights the forthcoming accessibility of all Women's Championship matches on Youtube, and questions its reach and impact on attendance.

Val, Dave, and Steve are joined by Jennifer Haskel, Knowledge and Insights Lead in the Deloitte Business Sports Group, for a deep dive into Deloitte's research and projects on women's football, including their work on the:

• FIFA's Women's Football Benchmarking Report (https://inside.fifa.com/womens-football/news/setting-the-pace-fifa-womens-football-benchmarking-report);

• the Deloitte Women's Football Money League (https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/services/financial-advisory/analysis/deloitte-football-money-league-women.html); and

• the Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance (https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-zone2/uk/en/docs/services/financial-advisory/2024/deloitte-uk-annual-review-of-football-finance.pdf

Plus, a lively co-host debate on whether the NWSL missed a golden financial opportunity by choosing the CPKC Stadium for the 2024 NWSL Championship Final over a larger venue in a bigger city (that would have been easier for Val to get to...).

Val and Steve chat with Thayer Lavielle, Managing Director of The Wasserman Collective, about the increasing importance of commercial partnerships to the growth and sustainability of women’s professional football.  The Collective is a team within the broader Wasserman agency which focuses on producing publicly-shared research to support greater gender equity in all corners of sports and entertainment.

Thayer shares insights on the Return-on-Investment for brands investing in women’s sports, and why women’s leagues, teams, and athletes are now justified in seeking more value from commercial partners. They also discuss media visibility, social media's impact on sponsorship valuation, and appropriate tradeoffs to get butts in seats.

Before that discussion, Val, Dave, and Steve reflect on The Collective's latest report, Her Love of the Game (https://www.wearethecollective.com/her-love-of-the-game), exploring the growth of female sports fans, what they care about when brands sponsor their favorite teams, and their loyalty to brands that align with their values. 

Dave and Steve also console Val on her daughter's decision to support Chelsea Women, and their excitement for upcoming international friendlies.

This episode of The Women’s Football Finance Podcast focuses on women’s professional football in France, with the help of our guest Pedro Iriondo, former Deputy General Manager of Olympique de Marseille and General Manager of the women’s football section.

Hosts Valerie Goldstein, Dave Powell and Steve Estes talk with Pedro about the constraints women’s professional teams face in France, the various obstacles suppressing growth and how parent-clubs and the French Football Association can be both a help and a hindrance. They also discuss disparities in team operating budgets and player pay and Pedro offers insight into the tricky decision-making process around where a women’s team plays its matches.

The team also analyses the new £65M Sky / BBC broadcasting deal for the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship in England, and provides some background on the development of women’s professional football in France and how it’s currently performing on key growth metrics such as attendance and broadcast revenue.