188体育

Background

The Fan-Led Review of Football Governance, conducted in 2021, recommended that 鈥榞iven the many, but interconnected, issues affecting a meaningful future for women鈥檚 football needing to be addressed and resolved successfully, the future of women鈥檚 football should receive its own dedicated review鈥�. It stated that 鈥楾here is huge potential for the game to grow further, but to make this a reality there needs to be serious investment in women鈥檚 football, in its finances, in its infrastructure, and in the administration of the game鈥�.

The UK government has therefore initiated a Review of the Future of Women鈥檚 Football. This review will not focus on elements of the women鈥檚 game that are shared with the Fan Led Review, such as club heritage, owners鈥� and directors鈥� tests, financial sustainability of clubs and independent regulation, as the outcomes of the Fan Led Review will apply to women鈥檚 football in the same way.

Terms of Reference

The Chair of the Review will be supported in the evidence gathering and analysis by senior officials from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and the Football Association. The Chair will also utilise senior DCMS officials to test findings and review recommendations.

An informal panel of industry experts will also support the Review team in analysing evidence and developing recommendations.

Based on the evidence provided, the Review team will hold up to two expert sessions on each of the topics, with stakeholders from the game providing further evidence. The Chair will gather evidence, ask for further information from contributors and develop recommendations to be provided in a full report to the Secretary of State for DCMS.

The Future of Women鈥檚 Football review will:

• Assess the potential audience reach and growth of the game by considering the value and visibility of women鈥檚 and girl鈥檚 football in England, including the potential to grow the fanbase for women鈥檚 football for the future of the game and whether current growth still supports home-grown talent and can be achieved without overstretching infrastructure
• Examine the financial health of the game, its financial sustainability for the long term including: exploring commercial opportunities and ways to support the commercialisation of the women鈥檚 game; broadcast revenue opportunities; and the sponsorship of women鈥檚 football
• Examine the structures within women鈥檚 football, including affiliation with men鈥檚 teams, prize money, the need for women鈥檚 football to adhere to the administrative requirements of the men鈥檚 game; assess the adequacy, quality, accessibility, and prevalence of the facilities available for women鈥檚 and girl鈥檚 football for the future growth and sustainability of the game

Future of Women鈥檚 Football review key themes

1. Audience and growth - Assess the potential audience reach and growth of the game by considering the value and visibility of women鈥檚 and girl鈥檚 football in England, including the potential to grow the fanbase for women鈥檚 football for the future of the game and whether current growth still supports home-grown talent and can be achieved without overstretching infrastructure.

2. Commercial and broadcasting - Examine the financial health of the game, its financial sustainability for the long term including: exploring commercial opportunities and ways to support the commercialisation of the women鈥檚 game; broadcast revenue opportunities; and the sponsorship of women鈥檚 football

3. Structures and governance - Examine the structures within women鈥檚 football, including affiliation with men鈥檚 teams, prize money, the need for women鈥檚 football to adhere to the administrative requirements of the men鈥檚 game; assess the adequacy, quality, accessibility, and prevalence of the facilities available for women鈥檚 and girl鈥檚 football for the future growth and sustainability of the game.

Call for evidence (closed)

The Future of Women鈥檚 Football Review is a unique opportunity to develop an exciting and deliverable vision for the game, paving the way for generations of girls to come.

We ran a call for evidence focusing on the 3 themes of the review:

1. Audience and growth

2. Commercial and broadcasting

3. Structures and governance

The call for evidence closed at 11.59pm on Tuesday 1 November 2022. Thank you for your engagement and input; your contribution is very valuable to us.