How I wish there were more events like the one I had the incredible opportunity to attend today. A heartfelt thank you to Alejandra Depalma, Chief Communication Officer at Mercury/13, for inviting me to SportsPro Live 2025.
I’ve been to plenty of sports business events in the UK, Italy, and beyond. Rarely do I see men actively listening, asking questions, or showing genuine interest in women’s sport. That’s what made today so refreshing.
It reaffirmed something I’ve long believed—though some might call it an unpopular opinion—that while safe spaces for women are essential, lasting systemic change can only happen when men and women sit in the same rooms, ask questions, and learn from one another. Excluding men from these conversations only slows the progress we all want to see. Today gave me hope: the momentum around women’s sport is not only real—it’s growing, and we’re building a fairer future together.
I left SportsPro Live feeling deeply energised, and more convinced than ever that women’s sport is not a trend, not a carbon copy of men’s sport—and we need to stop benchmarking it as such. Women’s sport is carving its own path. It’s here to stay. Full stop.
Among all sports, women’s football is taking some of the boldest strides. Yes, it faces hurdles—but commercially, in terms of ROI and visibility, it’s a no-brainer. It worked for men—why wouldn’t it work for women? And in fact, it is working, now that the focus has finally shifted from feel-good gestures to what matters: ownership. Capital. Strategy.
And Mercury/13 is unapologetically leading that shift. The panel “Revolutionising Women’s Football Through Investment,” chaired by Kelly Simmons OBE, Sports Consultant and Director of Women in Football and former Director of Women’s Professional Game at the FA, featured Victoire Cogevina Reynal, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Mercury/13, and Eniola Aluko, former Lioness, now broadcaster, advisor, and investor in Mercury/13.
This wasn’t just a conversation about vision — it was a frank, forward-looking discussion on the future of the game. A conversation that peeled back the layers of transformation and inertia shaping the business of women’s football today.
It brought to light a blueprint — one that tears down legacy gatekeeping and builds from the ground up. With purpose. With performance. With capital on the table.
From Subsidy to Sustainability
“We’re not looking to ‘support’ women’s football,” Victoire told the audience. “We’re looking to own it.” A sentence that might cause traditional investors to clutch their pearls — but one that defines Mercury/13’s mission: a multi-club ownership model designed not to depend on the men’s game, but to build a separate, high-performing, elite ecosystem. One with proper training grounds, broadcast-ready stadiums, real marketing budgets, and salaries that allow players to actually focus on, well, football.
Because here’s the kicker: some top-league players are still semi-professional. “It’s crazy,” Victoire said. “You’ve got women being streamed, broadcast on linear TV, playing in front of sold-out stadiums — and then going back to their day jobs.”
That disconnect? It’s not just inconvenient. It’s economically illiterate. The commercial potential is obvious, but you can’t sell excellence that’s being run on scraps.
“We’re still looking for product-market fit,” said Victoire, “which is a detector, but that applies very much to the start-up that the women’s game is”. And that’s not a critique, nor even an insult, from my perspective, I see it as an invitation. It means experimentation is not only allowed, it’s essential. It means the audience is still forming. And for brands, clubs, and investors, this is a rare and powerful moment to help shape the future of the game.
Decoupling the Problem
If investors are circling — and they are — why isn’t the money flowing? According to Kelly Simmons OBE, the interest is real. “I get calls every week,” she said. “But structurally, Europe’s a mess, the structural setup of clubs often adds significant complexity.”
Victoire offers a candid behind-the-scenes look at what this entails. “When we were looking at clubs in Europe, particularly in France, Spain, and Italy, we encountered a recurring issue: the women’s team is often entangled with the men’s structure. In some cases, it’s not even a separate legal entity. So even when investors are ready to deploy capital, there’s no mechanism to deploy capital at scale to female founders. It’s not that the capital isn’t there — it’s that the structure to channel it isn’t. Until that changes, female-led innovation will keep being overlooked.”
Moreover, regulations like UEFA’s multi-club ownership (MCO) rules, designed with men’s football in mind, can inadvertently hinder investment in women’s football. These rules restrict entities from owning multiple clubs in the same competition to prevent conflicts of interest. However, when applied to women’s football, they can limit opportunities for investment and growth. Victoire advocates for a reevaluation of these regulations, suggesting a temporary freeze or adjustment to accommodate the unique needs of the women’s game.
The financial disparities are evident. For instance, despite a successful season, Wolverhampton Wanderers Women were denied promotion due to the club’s decision not to apply, citing financial constraints. This decision, made without player consultation, highlights the systemic undervaluation of women’s teams and the need for independent financial structures.
Recognizing these challenges, initiatives are emerging to foster direct investment in women’s football. The UK government’s Women’s Sport Investment Accelerator aims to attract private investment into women’s sports, including football, by providing market insights and networking opportunities. Similarly, UEFA has pledged €1 billion over six years to develop women’s football, aiming to professionalize leagues and increase the number of professional players across Europe.
Victoire continued, “I strongly push the federations and, you know, even UEFA to think about how we can rethink these rules a bit. Because right now, they’re stalling the growth of the game.”
Eniola Aluko raises a vital point about the lack of effective public relations around the return on investment in women’s football, especially in Europe. She contrasts this with the U.S., where the NWSL has excelled at transparently showcasing franchise value growth, demonstrating clear trajectories from acquisition to profitable exits. “They’re very good at saying, right, we bought at this, we sold at this,” she says, suggesting this clarity drives investor confidence, much like investing in a known stock like Visa.
In Europe, where many women’s teams remain structurally and financially tied to their men’s counterparts, this kind of standalone value proposition is harder to articulate. Yet Aluko urges the industry to better tell the story of women’s football’s exponential growth — from an era when teams were seen as charitable arms of clubs to today’s thriving audiences and increasing revenues. She cites Angel City FC as a standout example of how strong branding, early commercial partnerships (like with Klarna and DoorDash), and community engagement can generate momentum even before a team plays its first match. This model, she suggests, creates a “don’t-miss-out” energy that Europe’s clubs could learn from, alongside governance reforms like Chelsea’s recent decoupling of the women’s team value.
As seen with Arsenal’s growing commercial success, including sponsorships from brands that traditionally avoid men’s football like IL MAKIAGE, the appetite is clearly there — what’s missing is consistent storytelling that proves investing in women’s football isn’t just socially impactful, it’s smart business.
Fan Base First
All three speakers agreed: the fan base is there, and is growing fast. Eniola Aluko emphasized how digital platforms have been crucial in reaching younger, more diverse audiences. “We’ve seen massive growth in viewership thanks to social media, live streaming, and fan-driven content. The audience is hungry, and those fans want quality. Not just the match — the full experience. Commentary that knows the players. Atmosphere. Storylines. That only comes with investment in the whole ecosystem, not just the 90 minutes on the pitch”.
Victoire’s first women’s match wasn’t just emotional — it was eye-opening. “The crowd looked different,” she said of a 2019 Argentina vs. Japan game. “It felt like a completely new kind of football.”
This isn’t men’s football 2.0. It’s a whole new arena. New audience, new culture, new product. One where the values aren’t aggression and tribalism, but inclusion and access.
And that means brands, broadcasters, and investors have a rare shot: to get in early, shape the narrative, and not repeat the mistakes of the men’s game. The question is: will the industry catch up to them?
Levelling The Pitch for Women’s Football
For Eniola Aluko, investing in Mercury/13 wasn’t just a business decision — it was personal. “I’ve always talked about investing in the game, but I hadn’t actually done it,” she admitted. “So this was my moment to put my money where my mouth is.”
Her six-figure investment — no small feat for a woman footballer — wasn’t just capital. It was symbolic. “That was the amount of value I received from the game, and so it was that case of putting it back into the game and the future of women’s football”.
When it comes to building the future of women’s football, one thing is clear: elite environments matter. For Eniola, creating the conditions for players to truly thrive is not just a nice-to-have—it’s essential.
“It’s always about creating environments where female athletes can focus purely on football,” Aluko explains. “We’ve spent a long time juggling other responsibilities—because the pay wasn’t there, the infrastructure wasn’t there. So now it’s about putting in place the structures that allow women to just be professional athletes.”
This ethos is already being implemented at FC Como Women, the first club acquired by Mercury/13. Aluko speaks with pride about the meticulous work that’s gone into building a truly professional setting for the players, from upgrading gyms and pitches to ensuring the right nutritional support and stadium facilities.
“We’ve had so many discussions about resources,” she says. “Because in women’s football, those basics, those things we take for granted in the men’s game, haven’t always been there. So the first question is always: when a player walks into the training centre, do they feel like a professional?”
That question is at the heart of Mercury/13’s mission, and it’s not a one-off. Aluko emphasizes that these standards will be carried forward as they expand their portfolio of clubs. Whether it’s club two, three, or five, the commitment remains the same: professional environments, built for high performance.
But the vision doesn’t stop on the pitch. Aluko is equally passionate about what happens after players hang up their boots.
“Football is a relatively short career,” she reflects. “So we’re constantly thinking: what’s next for these women? Can we offer them education, access to coaching badges, media training—so if they’re interested in broadcasting or behind-the-scenes roles, they’re already prepared?”
This dual focus on both performance and long-term player welfare is what sets Mercury/13 apart. And for Kelly Simmons OBE, who moderated the conversation, it offers a model that others can look to.
“We hear so much about athlete welfare, calendar congestion, and the need for high-performance environments,” she noted. “Eni’s approach at Mercury/13 really showcases what’s possible when you place athletes at the center.”
The Broadcasting Gap
Another underexploited revenue stream is broadcasting. “We’re still not seeing the kind of commercial return from broadcasting rights that the women’s game deserves,” Simmons notes. “At The FA, we worked hard to carve out a separate commercial identity for the WSL, which led to landmark deals with the BBC and Sky. But globally, women’s football is still often bundled in or sidelined.”
This bundling issue devalues the women’s game. As Victoire puts it, “When broadcasters pay for rights to the men’s leagues and get the women’s rights thrown in as a bonus, there’s no pressure to promote it properly. There’s no incentive to grow those audiences.”
And the issue runs deeper than just business strategy—it’s systemic. While men’s football has benefited from consistent investment and promotion for well over a century, women’s football has only recently begun to receive attention, not because women weren’t playing or didn’t want to, but because societal structures have long repressed and undervalued what is female, relegating it to a secondary status. In the UK, for example, women’s football was banned by the Football Association from 1920 until 1970—a 50-year gap in development that still echoes today. But what’s shifting the tide is consumer behavior. Women, especially, are seeking brands and experiences with purpose and value. This isn’t just about sport—it’s about cultural change, and the broadcasters and sponsors who understand that will be the ones to lead the next chapter of growth.
Build It Like a Business
Victoire said it best: “You don’t build an elite football environment overnight. You need data. Science. Coaches. Infrastructure. That takes capital — and a long-term view.”
And a long-term view is exactly what’s been missing. For too long, women’s football has been viewed as either a CSR checkbox or an inspirational side gig. What Mercury/13 is doing is framing it as what it actually is: a business. A high-growth, brandable, monetizable business — with, allow me to add, a better cultural product than half the men’s leagues already out there.
The key is not just investing in players. But investing in possibility. In performance. In the power to shape football’s next chapter — with women at the centre, not on the sidelines. The question isn’t whether women’s football can be big business. The question is: who’s smart enough to get in early?
