What's coming up in women's sport in 2023

From when I first joined the sports industry, on the Grassroots Programme, through to today there has been a radical industry shift in the perceived value of women’s sports. As female athletes and women’s team and club sponsorship deals continue to evolve on this trajectory. I am most excited to see innovative storytelling campaigns come to the forefront, especially in the context of a Football and Netball World Cup and the new format, WXV tournament.

This may be somewhat expected but I’m excited to see what the 2023 Women’s World Cup will bring for a couple of different reasons.  I’m eager to see how sponsors show up and amplify the stories of the event, teams and players. I look for viewership to rise from previous years and, specifically for the US, be a catalyst for increased viewership and investment in the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League). With the momentum that women’s soccer has generated in the past couple of years in terms of equal pay and sustained growth within the NWSL, it’s exciting to have chatter and buzz ahead of a World Cup instead of reacting to the event once it’s here.

The thing that I am most excited about for this year across women’s sport is to see how brands, leagues and teams are promoting and authentically supporting the stories of incredible female athletes. We saw the impressive and wide reaching nature that the Women’s Euros had last year, but I am looking forward to the stories that are told this year and the other sports that are becoming more accessible among younger girls.

The 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup saw unprecedented engagement throughout the tournament, demonstrating the ongoing growth and interest in women’s football in Asia. The opportunity presented for participating nations this year could not get any better. These are very telling signs of commercial opportunities for brands, but more importantly, we hope the World Cup will continue to inspire many young and aspiring females in Asia to participate in football and sports as a whole.

The women’s IPL demanded the world’s attention before the tournament had even started. Five women’s IPL franchises sold for a total of £465m (breaking the records of the inaugural men’s IPL in 2008), while its broadcast rights were acquired for $116.5m – one of the largest ever rights deals in women’s sport. The player auction sent shockwaves through team camps during the T20 World Cup – resulting in a handful of the current generation becoming amongst the best-paid team sports athletes in the world. Franchise tournaments such as the Women’s IPL, The Hundred in the UK and the Big Bash in Australia will be a catalyst for growth in the women’s game.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia & New Zealand has to be top of my list. It’s going to be the first sporting event I take my daughter to and I’m so excited to see her reaction! She was mesmerised watching the FIFA World Cup last year on TV so this will be a whole new experience for her. As a Netball fan and player, I will also be glued to the Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa to see if the Roses can replicate their iconic win at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Finally, as we see China opening up again, global events will flood back which will provide a brilliant platform for women’s sport to flourish further.

Building upon the success of the World Cup in Qatar and other international sporting events in the region, 2023 promises to be another step up as there’s been a huge focus on keeping women’s sport moving forward in parallel to growing sport overall and CSM Middle East will be driving some of the biggest regional initiatives that will help to grow the industry. Two of the key programmes in 2023 are AD360 – an initiative launched by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and Shuhub, an initiative launched by NEOM in 2022.