Women’s Euros success may have played part in growth
A YouGov report commissioned by the BBC has found that women’s sport has gained four million fans over the past 10 months.
A first report was completed in October 2021 with 2,157 respondents, with another in August 2022 with 2,129 respondents for comparison. 41.5% of respondents, which would extrapolate to 22 million of the total population, identified as fans of women’s sport.
The biggest winner was women’s football, which won an estimated 8.7 million new supporters in a year that saw England finally win a major tournament at the Women’s Euros. This tripled the total who said they were fans in October 2021. For female fans, there was a 19% increase in interest in women’s football.
A record 17.5 million viewers tuned into England’s final victory over Germany at the Euros, which was broadcast by the BBC.
Winter sports, netball, combat sports and gymnastics also saw ‘notable’ growth according to the BBC, with space to grow further as the study predicts 14 million are open to becoming women’s sport fans.
Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: “The BBC is a passionate supporter of women’s sport, so it is fantastic to see such positive evidence of how increased visibility of sport can drive even greater interest and impact.”
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