Aside from victory and sporting glory, the players in the women’s Euro 2025 football tournament are playing for more money than ever before. The prize fund of €41 million (£35 million), to be shared among the 16 participating sides, is more than double what it was last time around.
It’s still a long way off from the prize money on offer to the men’s equivalent tournament (€331 million), but is a clear indication of the continuing rise of interest and investment in women’s football, particularly within England.
The English team’s hosting and victory of the 2022 women’s Euros were rightly credited with providing a massive boost to the game three years ago. But interest in women’s club football was already on the rise, with an almost sixfold increase in revenue between 2011 (the first season of the Women’s Super League (WSL)) and 2019.