Women’s sports sponsorship has come a long way

Women’s sports sponsorship in the UK has come a long way in the last few decades, writes Rachelle Cohen.

Weltch Media-sponsored Danni Wyatt of Torquay Utd Women

In the past, women’s sports were often overlooked and underfunded, with sponsorships and media coverage disproportionately focused on men’s sports. But, in recent years, there has been a big shift towards increased support and investment in women’s sports.

In our own small way, Weltch Media has been part of that trend. We’ve proudly sponsored Torquay United’s Danni Wyatt since 2017, as well as other players at the club, including Jana Richards, Daisy Self, Nikki Caunce, and Laura Shaw.

And we’ve backed England international rugby league player Kelsey Gentles, initially at Castleford Tigers and then at York City Valkyrie. We also co-sponsored Zoe Watson at Castleford.

These outstanding athletes are great role models and potential brand ambassadors. And some major companies have recongised that.

Many have begun to sponsor female athletes and teams in order to leverage their popularity and influence to promote their products and services. For example, Nike has long been a major sponsor of women’s sports, supporting female athletes like Serena Williams and Simone Biles – although Simone left Nike for women’s sports brand Athleta in 2021.

It’s clear that sponsorship of women’s sport has progressed, even in the few years since we published this post encouraging people to get on board, back in 2017.

Another trend is the growing focus on women’s professional sports leagues. In the past, many women’s  teams and leagues struggled to attract sponsors and media attention, but this is changing as more companies recognize the value of investing in these teams and leagues.

For example, the Women’s Super League (WSL), England’s top professional women’s soccer league, is sponsored by Barclays. This sponsorship not only helped to raise the profile of the league, but also provided much-needed financial support and resources to help the teams and players compete at the highest levels.

Overall, you can see that women’s sports sponsorship in the UK has come a long way in the last 30 years, with increased support and investment from companies and growing recognition of the value of professional women’s sports leagues.

While there is still much work to be done to fully support and promote women’s sports, these trends are a promising sign of progress.

If you’re involved in sports and are looking for help with promotion or communications, maybe we can help.