“The biggest ever investment in UK women’s sport by any brand” – this is what the new deal between Barclay and the Women’s Super League has been called in the past few days.
Big news in women’s football world, since Barclay announced they will become the first ever title sponsor of the Women’s Super League. This partnership is set for three years and understood to be worth in excess of £100 million. The sponsorship will come into effect starting from next season.
The competition will be rebranded as the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and will include £500,000 as a prize, which is a novelty, since there hasn’t been any official cash prize before.
The Women’s Super League began in 2011, initially as an eight-team semiprofessional league, but now it has grown to be Europe’s only women’s full-time strictly professional league with 11 teams.
Barclays will not only partner with the WSL, but will also become the lead partner of the FA Girls’ Football School Partnership, which represents a nationwide plan striving to help girls have better access to football at school. Through the FA’s Gameplan for growth strategy, this partnership aims to double the fan base and participation through a four–year plan launching in 2019.
