Where European women’s football is today －Report: UEFA Women’s Champions League Final－

Where European women’s football is today

－Report: UEFA Women’s Champions League Final－

On May 25, 2024, the UEFA Women’s Champions League final between FC Barcelona Femini and Olympic Lyon Feminin took place in Bilbao, Spain. UEFA has invested in women’s football, announcing a five-year strategy for women’s football in 2019. This year marks exactly the fifth year. To get a firsthand look at where women’s football is now as a business, I was there to watch the UEFA Women’s Champions League final. Through 10 topics, I would like to share with you the state of excitement in Europe and the background that has created it.

１．Tickets sold out in 30 minutes

The more than 50,000 tickets sold in phases leading up to the finals were sold out. Tickets went on sale on March 8, International Women’s Day. The first 18,000 tickets were sold in 30 minutes. Later, after the teams that would advance to the finals were chosen, tickets were sold to the supporters of those teams. This also sold out in 30 minutes. Ticket prices ranged from 15 to 45 euros, lower than the men’s tickets, but with such demand, prices are expected to rise further in the future. 

２．Airplane with FC Barcelona wrapping

Barcelona-based Vueling Airlines has announced that it has become the official sponsor of the FC Barcelona women’s team in April 2024. The author traveled from Barcelona to Bilbao on the morning of the final, and the expectation was that the flight would be a special edition wrapped with photos of Barcelona players. Since many of the passengers were Barcelona supporters who were going to watch the final, they cheered when they saw the aircraft.

３．Bilbao, the host city, is excited about the finals as a whole city.

Bilbao had a lot of decorations, both at the airport and in the city, related to the UEFA Women’s Champions League final. 40,000 people were said to have come from Barcelona, and if the rest were from outside the Bilbao area, that was a lot of visitors in one day. Hotels in the center of town were over ¥100,000 per night, with prices soaring to several times the usual level. Also, since the final was played on Saturday, the next Sunday saw many Barcelona supporters at major tourist attractions. It is thought that the economic effect as tourism was significant.

４．Fan Zone, the first trial in the women’s Champions League

A fan zone was set up for both supporters to enjoy the pre-match time. This is a common practice in large men’s tournaments, but this is the first time this has been done in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Since the event was held in Spain, the fan zone was bustling with over 40,000 supporters in Barcelona. The music was loud and the atmosphere was like a festival. There were only a few photo spots and no sponsor booths except for Heineken. With this level of excitement, I think there is room for more sponsorship activations and other activities in this space next year.

The Lyon side’s fan zone was not permanently set up in the park but was operated by a Heineken brass band around the park, as the number of Lyon supporters was relatively small compared to that of Barcelona supporters.

５．Sponsorship activation around the venue

There were booths of several sponsors around the venue, including PepsiCo and Heineken. In a unique initiative, Heineken had a booth that was also involved in raising awareness of recycling. Visitors were able to try their hand at filling a plastic bottle or can into a roulette machine and receive a cap or towel (both products made from recycled materials). Many people visited this booth.

６．Different audience compared with that of men’s football

Many of the spectators were women and families. I was struck by the fact that there were many groups of young women, such as a group of eight, which is not common in men’s football. I think this is one of the reasons why big clubs like Barca are investing in women’s football. One advantage of having a women’s football team is that you can reach a demographic that men’s football cannot reach and attract young women and families as new fans of the club.

In addition to those wearing the uniforms of the men’s team, I also saw many people wearing the uniforms of the women’s team. In particular, I saw many uniforms with the name of Alexia, the iconic Barcelona player of today. I saw not only women and little girls, but also many men and boys. This is not often seen in Japan and was unthinkable in Spain five years ago. Now they blend in with the city without any sense of discomfort.

７．Largest attendance for a final

On that day, 50,827 people came to the stadium, breaking the record for the largest attendance at a UEFA Women’s Champions League final. When it was announced in the second half of the game that the record had been broken, along with this number, there was a huge cheer from the stands.

８．Improvement of broadcasting quality

DAZN has been the official broadcasting partner of the UEFA Women’s Champions League since 2021, and the free distribution of the event on DAZN and YouTube has dramatically increased awareness of women’s football and the tournament.

At the games, commentators from various countries were on the pitch level before the matches, giving interviews and commentary on the prospects of the games. These value-added efforts were made in addition to simply broadcasting the matches. This is a common practice in men’s football but has not been done in women’s football. This was the reason why so many viewers watched the match.

９．Stadium enthusiasm and unique atmosphere of women’s Football

The pre-match ceremonies were excellent, as befits the final of a big tournament. The match itself was a great success, with FC Barcelona winning with more than 80% of the audience cheering for the team. Both Aitana and Alexia, who scored the first and second goals, respectively, are Ballon d’Or winners, and the stadium was filled with cheers as they were scored by the players who should have scored them. Although there was some booing, it was less than that of the men’s team, and I was impressed by the atmosphere of pure enjoyment of the sport and support for the players. I felt that this is one of the advantages of women’s football.

10.　High social interest

The next day, newspapers in Spain covered FC Barcelona Femeni’s UEFA Women’s Champions League victory not only in the sports section but also in the general newspapers. In Spain, women’s football is usually featured in TV news programs, and is attracting much more attention than it did a few years ago.

※Spanish local media articles
https://www.abc.es/deportes/futbol/barcelona-venga-olympique-lyon-levantar-tercera-champions-20240525200701-nt.html
https://elpais.com/deportes/futbol/2024-05-25/el-barcelona-acaba-con-la-tirania-del-lyon-e-impone-un-nuevo-reinado-en-europa.html

In Europe, there has been a lot of investment in women’s football by UEFA and big clubs over the past five years, which has resulted in the current exciting situation. Attracting tens of thousands of spectators to a women’s football match is no longer unusual or newsworthy. Boys wearing the shirts of female players is also becoming the norm, and UEFA has announced that it will change the format of the Champions League starting the year after next, with the aim of further growth. The European women’s football market is expected to expand further in the future. 

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