Women’s Football Set To Reach 800m Worldwide Fans By 2030
Women’s football is on track to grow its global fanbase by 38% in the next five years and become one of the world’s top five sports reaching 800m fans, according to a new report from Nielsen Sports in collaboration with PepsiCo.
The landmark study — Undervalued to Unstoppable — is Nielsen Sport’s most comprehensive analysis of women’s football to date, offering insights into its accelerating global growth, audience profile and commercial power.
Key findings include:
– The global women’s football fanbase* is projected to grow by 38%, rising from 500 million to over 800m by 2030.
– 60% of fans will be female by 2030 — creating one of the few sports where women represent the majority audience.
– Women are expected to control 75% of household purchasing decisions by 2028, underscoring the urgency for brands to act.
– 47% of fans are among the top global earners, and 50% are aged 25–44 — a prime commercial demographic.
– The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup reached a media engagement audience of 2bn, while sponsorship deals tripled compared to 2019.
Despite these metrics, just a small fraction of global sponsorship budgets are allocated to women’s football. The report identifies this as a significant gap — and a major commercial opportunity.
“We have long believed in the potential of women’s football, and today, we’re no longer just tracking progress, we’re witnessing a breakthrough,” said Samanth Lamberti, Head of International at Nielsen Sports.
“From media rights to sponsorship and fan engagement, this is no longer a case of future promise but present value.”
Jane Wakely, EVP & Chief Consumer Marketing Officer & Chief Growth Officer, International Foods at PepsiCo, added: “At PepsiCo, we see women’s football as more than just a sport, it’s a cultural force with the power to connect, inspire and grow our brands.
“As a business, we’re proud to partner with UEFA Women’s Football, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the WNBA and leading athletes across the world, because we know these platforms unlock powerful passion points for an increasingly engaged and influential audience.”
Women’s football has seen a 60%+ rise in female fans over the past five years, with momentum strongest in markets like China (adding 186m fans), Brazil (39% of the population interested) and India (35% of the population interested).
In the UK, fan interest surged 15% in just two years, following the Lionesses’ UEFA EURO 2022 win — a moment that helped lift Women’s Super League visibility to record levels.
Hosts of the upcoming UEFA European Women’s Championship, Switzerland, has seen its women’s football fanbase increase by 22% in 2024 alone. With the tournament, which kicks off on 2nd July, played on home soil, the nation could become Europe’s next women’s football hotspot.
Participation numbers echo the global fan interest trajectory. In Europe, player growth has soared; France (+150%), Spain (+95%), the Netherlands (+25%), and the UK (+24%) have all recorded major increases since 2019.
In Asia, the trend is even sharper, with China seeing a 300% rise and Vietnam up 42%. Current hotspots where a significant proportion of the female population play women’s football, such as Mexico (6.9%), Saudi Arabia (6.1%) and Vietnam (8.1%), highlight how local investment, national strategies, or first-time World Cup entries can rapidly accelerate interest—often before the audience numbers catch up.
Image: Tom Dulat/Getty Images
