'Sponsorship milestone demonstrates progress in women's game'

In an age where sponsorships have become common place in men's football, there is still a lack of parity in terms of funding within the women's game.

However one big forward step for Women's football came with the announcement that the first sole sponsorship deal for all UEFA governed women's football had been confirmed with VISA.

The seven year deal highlights the growing importance of the women's game, as a global company is keen to invest in its future, rather than wasting money becoming one of many names in the men's game. 

As per the aim set out by UEFA head of women's football, Nadine Kessler, which was ' to assign clear value to womens football', this deal can truly be considered ground-breaking. 

Historical criticism of women's football has centered around the argument that it cannot sustain itself, yet when considering the social restrictions enforced upon the game over time, it is no wonder that funding is short, when it was all but reduced to being a lost cause.

Therefore, this deal is the biggest marker to date, not to mention the fact that it will also help to accelerate the growth of the game. 

 

December 6, 2018

Separating the rights of the men's and women's game for the very first time signifies that UEFA will be able to clearly measure the worth and growth of women's football in its own right.

Under the new deal, every level of the women's game, from Grassroots to the Champions League will receive backing. 

This deal was not the first uncoupling of men's and women's elite footballing competitions; the male and female editions of the Champions League are their own entities. 

Again, as highlighted by head of women's football, Nadine Kessler: "It is great to be a part of the Champions League week, in the same town, etc. The attention is massive – the whole world is already there, it has its benefits. But again, how can you say just how many people came for the women’s, how much attention we created and whether we gave women’s football a moment of its own? We hope this will be further evidence of the fact women’s football should have a platform of its own and is capable of using this platform.”

 

December 6, 2018

The development of women's football is quite clearly uneven; images of the female Copa Libertadores winners sleeping on the floor of the airport on their way home from the final, lives in stark contrast to the steps being made to promote the game in Europe. 

Nonetheless, the new deal between UEFA and VISA goes some way in silencing the public doubters of the value of the women's game. It also shows the higher powers in the game as a whole that women's football is not just a spare part, but an integral growing force that deserves to be respected. 

In the words of Nadine Kessler: "It is not just Europe, it is not just Uefa – that is always the message I am trying to spread. We need to really try to improve things together at the same time, from a confederations point of view, from a national associations point of view, even from a clubs point of view."