April 4 – The Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship are close to finalising a landmark sponsorship agreement, as Barclays prepares to double its financial support for the two leagues.
The title sponsor of the English Women’s top flight since 2019, Barclay’s price is set to hike up to £9 million per season across a three-year deal, beginning in 2025.
That fee doubles the value of the current deal, and is four times the value of its predecessor covering the 2019-2022 period.
The deal will secure exclusively the title rights for the top two divisions.
The new deal is one of the first big boosts for ‘NewCo’, which will take over the running of the top two women’s leagues in England from the Football Association this summer, in its bid to make the divisions commercially sustainable.
In 2021, the FA announced a deal with Barclays spanning from the 2022-23 to 2024-25 seasons, which involved Barclays investing £30 million in women and girls’ football, covering title sponsorship for the top two leagues and supporting the FA’s Girls’ Football School Partnerships.
That deal was celebrated as a groundbreaking investment in UK women’s sports, hailed for its significant impact on the development of women’s football.
Following an event in March 2024, coinciding with International Women’s Day, a staggering 465,000 girls from 5,000 schools across England participated in the FA and Barclays’ football session as part of their Let Girls Play campaign.
Speaking at that time, Tom Corbett, Barclays’ head of sponsorship at Barclays, said: “Football teaches girls so many crucial life skills. Seeing over 465,000 girls set to play today, and over 19,900 schools offering equal access, shows just how far the game has come.”
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1714388416labto1714388416ofdlr1714388416owedi1714388416sni@g1714388416niwe.1714388416yrrah1714388416