A €100 million milestone: Top ranked women’s football clubs generate record breaking revenues

For a third year, the Deloitte Football Money League profiles 15 of the top revenue generating women’s clubs*, with more leagues analysed than ever before.

Analysis of these clubs shows revenues surpassed €100m for the first time, with cumulative revenues of €116.6m in the 2023/24 season. This is a 35% year-on-year growth when accounting for group income**.

For a third consecutive year, FC Barcelona Femení remains top amongst the clubs analysed, having generated €17.9m in revenue, a 26% increase from the 2022/23 season after accounting for group income.

Meanwhile, Arsenal Women ranks in a close second with revenues of €17.9m, having generated a 64% and 48% increase to matchday and commercial revenues respectively in the 2023/24 season. The top five is completed by two other English clubs, Chelsea Women (€13.4m) and Manchester United Women (€10.7m), as well as Real Madrid Femenino (€10.5m).

Of the clubs included in our analysis, English clubs continue to lead the way in terms of the commercialisation and professionalisation of the women’s game. Of the top 15 women’s clubs, eight were from the Women’s Super League (WSL).  The new Barclays sponsorship, reported to have doubled to a value of £15m a year, is expected to further entrench English clubs at the top end of European football.

All the seven non-English clubs in the top 15 participated in the group stage of the Women’s Champions League, highlighting the importance of the competition for prize money and to drive broadcast revenue for clubs.

Tim Bridge, lead partner for the Deloitte Sports Business Group, said: “The 35% growth in revenues across the 2023/24 season is an impressive reflection of the growth of women’s football across some of its leading markets. Investors and leaders are now looking beyond just revenues and increasing their focus towards the sustainability and growth of clubs. Commercial partners and broadcasters are now recognising the growing profile of the women’s game and increasing their investment, in turn attracting greater and more diverse audiences in new addressable markets.

“The expansion of the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup demonstrates the demand for more games and competition. Pairing this with developing existing competitions, the introduction of new governance, and further investment can supercharge the participation in, professionalisation, and popularity of the women's game for the long-term.”

Among the top 15 clubs, commercial revenue accounted for two thirds (66%) of the total, highlighting the increasing value of women’s football to new and existing commercial partners. Both broadcast and matchday revenues accounted for 17% of the total.

Matchday revenues were boosted by growing attendance in many leagues. The WSL and Women’s Championship reported a cumulative attendance of over one million for the first time during the 2023/24 season. Furthermore, an increasing number of matches were hosted in main club stadia during the 2023/24 season, including six WSL matches at Emirates Stadium that set and broke the WSL attendance record three times during the season.

Increased attendances also translated into greater interest from commercial and broadcast partners. Excluding Liga F, leagues in each of the ‘big five’ European football markets currently have a title sponsor. Meanwhile, all leagues - excluding Serie A Femminile - have multi-year, multi-million-Euro broadcast rights agreements. The WSL and Liga F lead the way with broadcast deals with annual values of €8.7m and €7m, respectively.  

Jennifer Haskel, knowledge and insight lead in the Deloitte Sports Business Group, added: “Women’s football clubs continue to drive growth and create new opportunities to engage fans by exploring their own ways to operate. Whether it is through new commercial deals, innovative matchday experiences in main club stadia, or new club structures, the growth seen amongst women’s clubs is a testament to the dedicated investment of owners, commercial partners and governance stakeholders.

“It is clear that the women’s game is growing rapidly across metrics including and beyond revenue. While women’s clubs have traditionally been compared to, or expected to mirror, the structure and business of men’s clubs, we are seeing a fundamental shift in the recognition of opportunity that stems from embracing key differences. By doing so, the industry has an opportunity to set the future direction of the game, for its players and fans, but also to drive revenues and better the sport itself.”

The full 2025 Deloitte Football Money League can be accessed here.  

ENDS

Notes to Editors  

* The Money League ranking for women’s football includes 15 of the highest revenue generating women’s clubs for the financial year ending in 2024 in some of the game’s leading markets. The ranking is focused on clubs competing in key football leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Brazil and Japan), for which information was available to us. The revenue of women’s football clubs in other key markets such as Australia, Sweden and USA was not made available to us and so is not included in our analysis.

**The 2024 Deloitte Football Money League did not consider group income as part of women’s clubs’ revenue. Group income includes, among other components, revenue attributable to the women’s club from full club-wide commercial agreements, and contributions from the men’s club. Any historical comparisons made have been adjusted to account for group income for the prior year.

*** Excluding Paris Saint-Germain Féminine, for which revenue splits were not available. 

Deloitte Football Money League 2025 – women’s clubs

The full findings of the Deloitte Football Money League will be available on Thursday 23 January 2025 at: www.deloitte.co.uk/dfml.  
 

Basis of preparation

There are a number of metrics, both financial and non-financial, that can be used to compare clubs, including attendances, worldwide fan base, social media following and on-pitch performance. In the Money League we record clubs’ revenue generation from matchday, broadcast rights and commercial sources.

Exchange rates

For the purpose of the international comparisons, unless otherwise stated, all figures have been translated using the 12-month average exchange rate in at the time of the club’s reported year end (€1 = GBP 0.86; €1 = BRL 5.4; €1 = NOK 11.42 €1 = ¥161.3).

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