Winning the gender equality race: the rise of Women’s Sport Sponsorship at the UK Sponsorship Awards

Alongside this impressive endorsement, the study also found that “fans who engage with men’s and women’s sports tend to have higher average incomes and spend more time and money on sport each month compared to those who follow only men’s sports”. 

It concluded that “there is significant commercial value in deepening engagement with this existing audience, as they are more likely to invest in tickets, merchandise, subscriptions, and live experiences—driving immediate and long-term revenue growth.”

The study also argued that women’s sports, from football to golf to cricket, “have the opportunity to carve out their own identity, with fans valuing the technical skill, relatability, and inclusivity that set them apart”. It advised that “rather than focusing solely on gender, the spotlight should be on celebrating athletes and achievements, highlighting their talents and making the narrative both exciting and relatable for fans.”

Overall, Sky Sports said that its research “highlights the growing passion for women’s sport and the opportunity to deepen fan engagement in existing sports fans. From live viewing to player storytelling, fans value the unique qualities of women’s sport.”

If there was one note of warning it was that women’s sport needs “greater visibility and accessibility” to continue its rapid growth trajectory. One positive in this regard is the upcoming 2025 Women’s Euros, which takes place in Switzerland during July.

Sponsors also have a key role to play in supporting women’s sport, and it was noticeable at the 2025 edition of the UK Sponsorship Awards that many are stepping up to the plate. Throughout the evening, several major brands won awards or made shortlists for the incredible work they are doing with multiple women’s sport. 

Here are just a few examples:

Metro Bank - Champion of Women’s and Girls’ cricket. Working with The Space Between, Metro Bank is aiming to triple the number of girls’ cricket teams by 2028—transforming the sport for generations to come. About more than just cricket, the goal is to empower girls with confidence, success, and opportunity. In one year, Metro’s support helped the number of girls teams in England & Wales increase by 21%, while trust in the bank rose by six percent. The campaign is a blueprint for what a partnership should be; demonstrating that doing good and doing well aren’t mutually exclusive.  

Royal London - Lions Women Founding Partner: This partnership centres on Royal London’s direct involvement in the creation of a British & Irish Lions Women’s Team. Royal London funded a two-year feasibility study into the concept of a Lions Women’s team and in 2024 became founding partner. In this role, Royal London’s long-term investment is driving actionable change from grassroots to elite performance. Key commitments have included a £3m grant announcement: £1m a year, for three years, focused on women’s U18-U20 player and coach development. Looking ahead, Royal London wants to dive into storytelling about the impact of the £3m grant. It also plans to provide a £10,000 grant to four new clubs each year and evolve training camps.

Škoda & Tour de France Femmes - Ride With Me: Entered by Leo Burnett UK, Ride With Me was built around the insight that eight million women in the UK own bikes, but half don’t ride them. With the help of Olympian Elinor Barker and TV presenter Angellica Bell, Ride With Me encouraged women to invite friends for a ride through social-first films, an event and a #RideWithMe Strava Challenge. The campaign acted as an excellent reminder that there is a wide range of women’s sport platforms for sponsors.

Kick On With Starling: Echoing the Metro sponsorship, Kick On With Starling is another great example of how challenger banks are supporting the growth of women’s sport. With former Lioness Jill Scott as ambassador, the scheme has provided 10,000 women and girls with free kit, while the social media campaign for ‘Kick On’ has outperformed expectations. Starling was also shortlisted on the night for its partnership with Southampton Football Club Women, another collaboration seeking to empower women’s and girls’ football. It is built around three key initiatives: ‘Coaches of Tomorrow’, ‘Starling Bank Scout School’, and ‘The Next Starling’.

#WeSeeYouNetwork & Three Mobile: Sponsored and entered by Three Mobile, the #WeSeeYou Network (WSYN) is a culture-shifting initiative, building a community of role models. The goal is to celebrate the abundant – but often unseen – women involved in football, recognising the women who are the backbone of their communities, and nurturing the talent that will go on to be the future of the game. A key takeaway here is that there is a robust grassroots component to women’s sport.

Barclays & The FA Women’s Football: Barclays, working with the FA and M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment, has become a major backer of UK women’s sport. As title sponsor of the Barclays Women’s Super League, the bank has elevated the BWSL globally, creating opportunities, celebrating role models, and breaking records. Among its achievements, Barclays has backed the Girls’ Football School Partnerships to give girls equal access to football in schools. Last year, The FA launched #LetGirlsPlay Biggest Ever Football Session with Barclays, which saw 465,000 girls take part in building life skills and experiencing equal opportunities. Barclays has extended its FA partnership through 2028, with a new focus on keeping girls in the game for longer.

TeamViewer presents SheSportTech: Entered by 2025 Consultancy of the Year WeAre Fearless, this partnership with Manchester United FC and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 is another example of how great insights can power game-changing partnerships.  In this instance, the goal was to address the gender gap in sports technology, where 75% of roles are held by men. SheSportTech created role models and mentors by putting real women working in sports tech at the forefront of its campaign.

Adobe Women’s FA Cup: This partnership uses the Women’s FA Cup to build and protect the uniqueness of the women’s game and deliver equal opportunities for women and girls to play. Using platforms and tools, it shares stories, raises awareness and motivates the next generation of women players & fans. In 2023-24, the partnership delivered 61m video views, 4.8m engagements and 188k new followers. Year-on-year, these results amounted to an increase of +1993% video views, +1883% engagements and +1271% followers gained. The partnership culminated in a sold out Final.

Scottish Power - Energising women and girls’ football in Scotland: Utilities are another obvious partnership opportunity for women’s sport – and Scottish Power has embraced the opportunity. A winner in 2025, this well-established partnership seeks to grow the women’s game at every age and stage across Scotland by broadening access to football, supporting communities through cost-of-living challenges and raising the profile of SWPL players. Standout achievements this year include a 30% rise in participation in the ScottishPower Youth Challenge Cup and ScottishPower ranking highest amongst all brands for unprompted awareness of Scottish women’s football sponsorship, whilst SWPL broadcast fixtures grew 46% to 2 million+ viewers.

Backed by insights

Another notable theme at the 2025 awards was investment into research about women’s sport. Examples included the O2 Wearable Report, entered by M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment. The report was created by Red Roses rugby player Ellie Kildunne and her creative platform 5022. It was designed to reduce rugby’s gender awareness gap, highlight the women’s game and engage a socially conscious Gen Z audience. Also on show was The Buck Stops Here: Unlocking Women's Sport Sponsorship - entered by Women’s Sport Trust (a winner on the night). Women’s Sport Trust’s aim is to make women’s sport more visible, viable and unstoppable. WST identified that a lack of data was a barrier preventing progress. It undertook a series of research projects, and with ‘The Buck Stops Here’ research, sought to understand the barriers that still exist for brands when it comes to investing in women’s sport.

And a shout out for the arts…

While most of the current emphasis is on how sponsors can support women’s sport, the idea of female empowerment was also on show in UKSA’s 2025’s Arts Sponsorship category – thanks to V&A & Net-A-Porter’s sponsorship of ‘DIVA’. The DIVA exhibition set out to empower and celebrate women and reach new audiences. The partnership also elevated NAP’s brand perception, authentically aligning the two brands, highlighting NAP as a luxury fashion destination for a broad audience.