Joe GallopUEFA and The Football Association (FA) have released a post-tournament flash impact report on the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, which found the English host cities received an £81m boost in economic activity as a result of the event.
According to the report, produced by Ernst and Young (EY), 85% of spectators are likely to attend professional international and domestic women’s football events again in the future and 88% are likely to watch a match on TV. Similarly, 84% said it improved their perception of women’s football.
Other key findings include a 289% increase in media rights values since the previous Women’s EURO and 74% of local residents saying the event brought their local community closer.
The tournament, which took place from 6-31 July, had a total match attendance across the tournament of 574,875, including 110,555 international spectators from 104 countries. The host cities and towns included London, Brighton, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Rotherham, Southampton, Sheffield and Wigan.
The event saw more than 416,000 new opportunities created in England across schools, clubs, and the community to engage women and girls in grassroots legacy football activities across the host cities. It also saw more than half of local residents and two in five spectators and tournament volunteers being inspired to do more sport and physical activity generally.
Other key findings from the report include:
- Record-breaking final with 87,192 attendees, and an average match attendance of 18,544
- Domestic and international visitors made over 552,000day and overnight trips to host cities
- £44mtotal spectator spending around matchdays and trips across England
- 84% of participants reported that participating in the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Legacy activity/activities has improved their confidence and self-esteem
- The most watched Women’s EURO ever, with a projected global live viewership of 365m, across 195 territories
- Globally, UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 generated 453 cumulative social interactions, with TikTok (39%) and Twitter (21%) contributing the most.
UEFA chief of women’s football Nadine Kessler said, “We must now capitalise on these successes to continue advancing our game for girls and women, to secure further commitments to women’s football as well as to showcase the benefits of hosting this tournament as the bidding process for UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 is underway.”
UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 board member and director of women’s football at The FA Baroness Sue Campbell said, “We saw records tumble over the summer and this report not only confirms that, but importantly highlights its incredible short-term legacy on growing the game.
“Our work certainly does not stop here, we will continue to use this tournament to inspire positive change, not only in our host cities, but across the country.”