Chapter for history: the Spanish women’s soccer team embroiders its first star on its chest as world champion. La Roja have not disappointed in the first time they have played a FIFA World Cup final, in which they have managed to rise to the top to add this title to that of champion in all the lower categories.
The national team beat England, the queen of Europe, 1-0 thanks to Olga Carmona’s goal in the first half. Victory was for many just a dream, as the English, nicknamed Las Leonas, were part of the prestigious club of great favourites. The statistics played very against Vidal’s team: it is the fourth time that Spain has beaten England out of the total 17 times that both teams have met. The last time the boots had been seen was just over a year ago in the fateful Euro 2022 quarterfinal match, which culminated in the elimination of La Roja and the end of the continental dream.
Looking to the past, Spain thus enters its third World Cup in a list of champions in which Norway and Japan also have a title to their credit, always behind the United States (leader with four wins) and Germany, which remains with two . The national team’s World Cup debut dates back to 2015, where it did not make it past the group stage. And in 2019 it was precisely eliminated by the US.
Already in the most immediate present, to the prestige is added an economic prize of 270,000 dollars (almost 248,000 euros at the current exchange rate) for each player, according to the distribution established by FIFA, which is the governing body of international soccer. It is a juicy prize if one takes into account that the average salary in world women’s football is just over 13,000 euros. Just for playing in the final, the players of the two finalist teams secured a jackpot of $195,000 as part of a global premium piggy bank of $152 million for the 736 players in this World Cup, more than triple that of the last date of this Cup in France in 2019 and ten times more than in Canada in 2015.
The analysis for the future will focus the life of La Roja from now on. Winning the title of world champion opens up business opportunities both personally and at the team level, as it is obvious that brands are attracted to great sporting successes. Experts agree that the title will be a springboard for investment in this sport, as has historically happened with conquests in all disciplines ranging from Olympic gold in men’s soccer in 1992 to the 2006 Basketball World Cup.
The forecasts thus point to the opportunity of new commercial alliances that will join the list of companies loyal to the national team, led by Iberdrola, which was a pioneer in this territory by associating itself with women’s football in 2016 as the main sponsor of the National Team. As a result of this commitment, society’s recognition of the link between its brand and this niche is resounding, since more than 50% of Spaniards perceive the electric company as the main promoter of women’s sports in Spain. They are followed, albeit at a distance, by Santander, Movistar, Coca Cola, CaixaBank, Endesa and Visa, according to the latest edition of the SPSG Consulting Sports Sponsorship Barometer, which covers disciplines beyond football.
In addition, according to data provided by Iberdrola, which supports 32 national sports federations, gives its name to 32 top-flight leagues and another 100 competitions, its promotion reaches more than 600,000 athletes, two out of three federated women in Spain, and the The number of female licenses from the federations it supports has grown by 36%.
With Iberdrola at the helm, the list of sponsors for the women’s team is almost the same as the men’s, although the list of sponsors is even lower, as is the case with investment. Specifically, it also has Adidas, Iberia, Halcón Viajes, Cervezas Victoria, 3D Factory, Sanitas, Seur, El Pulpo (for the official suit), Sangre de Toro, Mitsubishi, Renfe, Sierra de Cazorla, Artero, Wimu, Alimentos de España (which belongs to the Ministry of Agriculture) and Gourmet La Roja (official gastronomic project licensed by the RFEF).
Together with these supports, the conquest in the World Cup gives a boost to the development of Spanish football in Spain. The women’s top flight has just finished its first year as a professional league after renaming itself Liga F and signing an exclusive broadcast rights agreement with DAZN worth 35 million euros over five seasons (2022/23-2026/27). In addition, a year ago LaLiga – the Spanish men’s professional football employers – guaranteed 42 million to the First Women’s League to become the exclusive marketer of its commercial assets also for five seasons.
The growth of this sport is also evident in the presence of more than 60 F League players in this 2023 World Cup, which makes it the third league that has had the greatest representation, behind the English and American ones. Of all of them, 24 footballers were in the World Cup final: 22 for Spain and two for England.
Against this backdrop, the pending issue is profitability, in which Beatriz Álvarez, the president of the Professional Women’s Soccer League (LPFF), trusts. “You have to give it time,” the board assured EXPANSIÓN last November. “It’s viable and it’s going to be sustainable in two or three years we’ll have a world-class league… we’re already keeping a faster pace than we expected.” On a sporting level, he has already achieved it and finances, despite obstacles such as the problems with Finetwork, continue on his way.
