Anatomy of a female sports fan

By Susan Riley, Head of Think Stylist

Earlier this summer I was lucky enough to find myself in a room with the winner of 39 grand slams and 20-time Wimbledon champion Billie Jean King. Dressed in vibrant blue, at 81 she still possesses the gumption that’s led her to advocate for sports equality and social justice for over 50 years.

King, founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and an investor in everything from basketball to hockey, wasn’t the only sports heavyweight in the room. Gabby Logan was interviewing, WSL CEO Nikki Doucet and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy were on the panel and the likes of Ian Wright were in the audience alongside me.  

King and co.'s conversation swung around like a racquet on centre court as they discussed all the things that need to happen to continue the momentum of women’s sport - as so beautifully accelerated yet again by the Lionesses’ second Euros victory and the UK playing host to the Women’s Rugby world cup.

Things discussed included the potential of Barclays Women’s Super League to follow in the footsteps of the men’s billion-pound Premier League. The FA’s bid to host the Women’s World Cup in 2035. A curriculum review to ensure PE is brought front and centre. Equal access to sports facilities for female teams. Giving sportswomen more protection in terms of the scrutiny they endure. Gaining the mutual respect of men and boys…

 And then: the kicker. We need more women. “We need more women coaches,” King declared. “But we need more women at every level, so they’re seen and appreciated.” It’s the same for fans. “Men have always watched women’s sports, by the way. We’ve done all kinds of research, and it’s also about getting more women to watch and to participate.”

"We need more women" can be dangerous territory

 When a sector decides it ‘needs more women’ funny things can happen. Products can turn pink. Typefaces can get swirlier. Pen portraits and customer profiles can err towards the more sweeping and anodyne. I have been in rooms with brands who describe their core consumer as ‘Jo, 48, who plays it safe with her wardrobe and is scared to try bright lipstick’. Let's face it: nobody wants to be Jo. We’re far too busy being multi-dimensional humans.

The recent WSL rebrand sadly scored an own goal in this regard, receiving spirited criticism from fans about everything from their logo to the language used. Deemed a “girly pop rebrand” with a pink logo, expressions like “my other boots are boots” and the addition of a ‘2’ that implied a second tier of football, one female fan said the rebrand “felt like a smack in the face to every fan who celebrates and supports the women’s game and fights so strongly for it.” 

Worse than stereotyping or genderisation is being marketed to as a simplified block of people, in the way that mothers or non-mothers often are. Take Sex and the City (yes, it remains the best reference for everything and anything): they were all single women but they were absolutely not the same kind of single. And it’s the same for female sports fans - of whom there are many different archetypes (only 22% of women say they’re not a fan of any sport).

So who are they? Of the women we spoke to currently watching sports (football and tennis are the top two watched btw), 49% are ‘Devotees’ who’ve come to sport through family, growing up following a game or team that’s already an intrinsic part of their life and identity. This cohort is consistently invested and community-entrenched. Think about the warmth and heart of Welcome to Wrexham.

38% are ‘Consumers’ who watch it on TV. They are open to discover content across all platforms - be that game highlights, behind-the-scenes footage or player stories - but that content needs to be consistent, easy to discover and engaging; something we’re still fine tuning. This lot are newer to fandom and just need to be shown how amazing and multifaceted sport can be. Brands can play a massive role here.

34% are ‘Showdowners’ drawn to the big tournaments and exciting highlights in the sport and cultural calendar like the Olympics or the Superbowl. These are the events that feed fandom in other ways. After the 2022 Euros, there was a 140% increase in the number of girls playing football the following season. Good news for the future given that sports fandom often stems from youth participation.

32% admit to being ‘Eventers’ who love attending a live event and feeling the experiential buzz. The atmosphere. The chants. The highs and lows of the crowd. Watching great sport is like watching theatre; there’s drama, tragedy, heroes and villains. Who wouldn’t want a front row to that?

Finally, 29% are ‘Socialites’ - social sports consumers who see sport as a way to come together with friends and feel a sense of community. It’s the Saturday afternoons with structure and purpose, those moments watching the big screen in the centre of town or the viewing parties at home

Some women are one of these or a few rolled into one. So which one(s) is your brand really talking to? Do you want to be spangly and memorable and on the big screen at the Superbowl or are you there in the trenches with the superfans, come rain or shine?

Align yourself with the benefits of sport- not just the problems

 Amazing and insightful as the conversation was between King and co, there can also be a tendency to focus on the problems and what needs to happen in women’s sport to make it bigger and better and to level the playing field.

A large part of this comes down to the fact that some brands put women's sports in a Corporate Social Responsibility bucket and so spend a lot of their comms and media budget on showing the problems and how they're helping. And while better representation and greater investment are needed for sure (Stylist  has spent a lot of time and energy highlighting inequality in sport and advocating for progress), we also need to show how great women's sport is to attract more people.

Sport is entertaining and full of drama and comebacks. It has amazing barrier-breaking characters with incredible resilience whose stories need telling (case in point, Simone Biles’ Rising). It creates identity in the same way as Swifties or Brat Girl Summer. It’s rooted in connection and satisfies the human need for belonging. It eases loneliness and boosts self-esteem. It blends culture, fashion, music and activism; there is no corner of life it doesn’t touch. This offers brands a massive array of exciting routes to explore and to create resonance and meaning with.

There is also huge opportunity to unify society and bring people together. Women don’t just watch women’s sport. Men don’t just watch men’s sport. Fandom is driven by the love of a game as opposed to a gender (Formula 1 being a timely example), so co-viewing experiences and blending men and women’s content is absolutely where it’s at.

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