Women's football set for boost as FA and Barclays announce multi-million pound sponsorship
Women’s football is set for a significant boost after a new multi-million pound partnership deal with Barclays was announced on Wednesday.
The deal struck with the Football Association, which will take effect from the 2019-20 season and run until 2022, will see the bank named as title sponsor of the Women’s Super League.
It will also see the biggest investment by a brand in UK women’s sport.
The FA’s director of the women’s professional game Kelly Simmons, who previously said the WSL could ‘break into the mainstream’, believes the deal will help transform women’s football.
Simmons said: “We are delighted to announce our landmark partnership with Barclays.
“Their record, multimillion-pound commitment will impact all levels of the game and will support our ambition to make the Barclays FA Women’s Super League the world’s most successful league, on and off the pitch.”
Alongside the sponsorship with Europe’s only fully professional domestic female football league, the deal aims to ‘celebrate the league’s players and clubs and change perceptions’.
It will also see Barclays work together with the FA to drive growth at grassroots level, becoming a lead partner of the FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships.
That particular initiative aims to engage, excite and encourage girls to make football a part of their life.
“Of equal importance is the support this provides to The FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships, a cornerstone to our ambition to double participation within The FA’s Gameplan for Growth strategy and will see girls across the country given the opportunity to begin a relationship with football, which we hope will last a lifetime,” Simmons added.
The partnership will also see the introduction of an annual £500,000 prize fund for the league, active as of the 2019/20 season and distributed based on final league position.
It is a significant landmark within The FA’s Gameplan for Growth strategy, a four-year strategy announced in 2017 that aims to double participation, double the fan base and create a high-performance system for England teams.
