Sports economist Dominik Schreyer explains what draws fans to the stadium, how Arsenal built Europe’s strongest women’s football audience, and why German clubs risk falling behind in the race for spectators.
The relationship between women’s football clubs and brands is shifting in a way that feels less like sponsorship and more like cultural authorship. The familiar model, a logo on a shirt in exchange for visibility, is being replaced by something more layered: co-creation partnerships that blend football with fashion, music, lifestyle, and storytelling.
Building an international brand requires synergy between clubs and the broader sporting ecosystem, creating connections that bring new audiences and stakeholders into women’s football. For Serie A Women’s clubs – and for the league itself – this has become increasingly urgent, as the landscape has stagnated since the 2022-23 season.
The development of the domestic league is currently progressing too slowly for the clubs in the German Frauen-Bundesliga. For years, they have been calling for aspects such as minimum salaries for the players, an expansion of the league and, above all, a more effective marketing strategy. Now the heads of all the clubs have joined forces to take matters into their own hands with the help of an agency.
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