Following the FA's Gameplan for Growth, the number of women and girl's football teams in England reached ****** in June 2020, almost double what it was in March 2017. England went on to have a record-breaking EURO 2022 campaign two years later, breaking their own record of the biggest women's EURO win.

The number of women playing football in England fell to ******* by November 2021, representing a decrease of just over 13 percent compared to May of the previous year. The coronavirus pandemic was undoubtedly a factor, as it had a significant impact on sports participation around the world.

England's EURO 2022 final against Germany became the most-watched women's football game on television in the United Kingdom, with **** million people tuning in at its peak. This surpassed the record previously set in 2019, when England faced the United States in the 2019 World Cup semi-final in front of **** million TV viewers. EURO 2022 itself broke a number of attendance records, including the most-attended women's EURO of all time.

A June 2021 report analyzed the most common reasons for low engagement with women's sports when compared with men's sports in the United Kingdom. Overall, ** percent of participants reported less media coverage to be a reason why people were less engaged with women's sports than with men's sports. The least common reason for survey participants from the United Kingdom was that games were not as physical in women's sports.

The English Premier League is the top division of professional football in England. In 2021, just over ** percent of viewers of the EPL in the United Kingdom were male. Meanwhile, ** percent of Premier League viewers were female.

The statistic shows the number of UEFA registered female football players in England from 2015 to 2019. In 2019, there were approximately *** thousand registered female football players in England.

Following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the English Football Association made spending cuts in a number of different areas. The area that took the biggest hit was facilities, with funding being cut by ** million British pounds. Women's football was one of the few areas that actually saw its funding increase, with a slight boost of *** million British pounds. This is consistent with the growth of women's football in England; as of 2020 there was twice the amount of women and girl's football teams than there had been three years earlier.

Viewership of the Women's Super League among high-earning households in the United Kingdom rose by over *** percent between the 2020/21 season and the first half of the 2021/22 season. In the first three months of the 2021/22 season, some *** thousand households watched the Women's Super League.

From January 1 to April 30, 2024, nearly ** million people watched televised women's sports coverage in the United Kingdom, representing a small increase on the previous year. This growth in audience size was also mirrored in some real life attendances, with the top division of English women's football seeing its average attendance increase in the 2023/24 season.

In the 2023/24 season, Arsenal generated over ** million British pounds in revenue, more than any other club in the FA Women's Super League. Meanwhile, Chelsea's total revenue amounted to **** million British pounds.

In 2024/25, the average attendance at Women's Super League matches fell to *****, representing a decrease of around 10 percent on the previous season. Arsenal continued to draw the largest crowds, with an average matchday attendance of over ******.

In the 2023/24 season, Chelsea had the highest total wage bill in the FA Women's Super League, totaling 10.3 million British pounds. Arsenal were not far behind, with wage costs amounting to nine million British pounds.

In 2023, the average annual salary in the FA Women's Super League was around ** thousand British pounds, with the highest yearly salary amounting to over ***** times this sum. However, even the highest earners in the FA WSL earn significantly less than the average Premier League footballer.

In 2022, **** million people watched women's sport in the United Kingdom, representing an increase of nearly ** percent on the previous year. 2022 represented a significant year for women's football in England, with the English national team winning the UEFA Women's EURO for the first time.

In 2023/24, clubs in the FA Women's Super League generated a total revenue of 65 million British pounds, representing an increase of 35 percent on the season before. This has been forecast to grow to 87 million British pounds in 2024/25.

The relationship between sport, education and social class in Britain is extremely complex and variable across different sports and genders. This statistic presents the share of different educational structures attended by British professional athletes across a range of sporting disciplines. Men's cricket had the highest levels of privately educated professional athletes of the sports included within this statistic, with 43 percent of the English men's cricket team having received a private education. Female cricketers had the lowest rate of comprehensive attendance, with 35 percent having attended private schools. The educational backgrounds of British female rugby union internationals differ to those of the men. Where 37 percent of men's British rugby union internationals having attended private schools, with only 47 percent having attended a state comprehensive. The women's British rugby union internationals educational background was more in line with football but still double the national average, with 82 percent having attended comprehensive schools and 13 percent having received private education.
Football Men’s football has long been a game where professional players leave the education system at an early age, with the pathways to elite level participation largely through the club and league structures. Consequently male football professionals have the lowest rates of privately educated participants within this statistic. The differences between male and female football professionals provides an insight into the differing opportunities for financial reward. Although the school backgrounds were comparable between male and female football professionals, reflecting similar social groups playing the game at grassroots level. However, high university attendance amongst female football professionals is likely due to the lower levels of financial compensation in women’s sport. The England team at the 2019 Women’s Football World Cup is the first fully professional team the country has ever had, and the Scottish team still features many part-time players. Private Education Many of the sports within this statistic, particularly those with a history of amateur participation, include school or university competition as a step on the ladder to success. Sports which require expensive equipment or special facilities lead to a more socially exclusive participant base. Many private schools have sufficient funding to invest heavily in high quality indoor and outdoor facilities for cricket, rugby, hockey, rowing, cycling, sailing and equestrianism. Within these sports the pathway to elite level participation is heavily associated with school or university level participation Olympics The educational backgrounds of British Olympic medalists shown within this statistic is illustrates a complex relationship between the relationship between sport, education and social class in Britain. Within the international sporting tournaments, such as the Olympic Games, Team GB has historically excelled at ‘sitting down sports’, including rowing, cycling, sailing and equestrianism. These all involve specialized and frequently expensive equipment and facilities, and are sports historically associated with higher social classes. Funding has historically been targeted towards such sports, on the basis that they offer the best chance of medals. Whilst this has been a largely successful tactic with regards to international sporting accolades, it is at the expense of funding more widely played and accessible sports, potentially creating additional barriers to participation.

In 2024/25, Arsenal had the most expensive tickets in the Women's Super League, with the cheapest adult ticket for matches played at the Emirates Stadium costing ** British pounds. Meanwhile, Liverpool tickets started from *** British pounds.

The statistic displays the most expensive season ticket prices in the Women's Super League 1 in England in 2017/2018, by club. For the 2017/2018 season, the most expensive season ticket from the Chelsea Ladies football club cost 42 British pounds.

The statistic shows the number of coaches with UEFA pro licence in selected national associations in Europe in 2017, by gender. In 2017, Spain had 44 female coaches with a UEFA pro licence.

The statistic shows the number of coaches with UEFA B licence in selected national associations in Europe in 2017, by gender. In 2017, Spain had *** female coaches with a UEFA B licence.