Sunday 20 August 2023, 01:30

FIFA releases global women’s football landscape survey report

  • Report provides snapshot from over 200 member associations that completed the survey

  • Data is built around the three key objectives of the FIFA’s Women’s Football Strategy

  • Number of women and girls playing organised football has increased by nearly a quarter compared to 2019

Today FIFA has published the Women’s Football: Member Associations Survey Report 2023, highlighting current and potential future development opportunities within the game, both on, and off the pitch. The data is built around the three key objectives of the FIFA’s Women’s Football Strategy: grow participation, enhance the commercial value and build the foundations. Women’s football has never been in a better position than the one it finds itself in today. All around the world, the women’s game is developing, be it in terms of the number of women and girls participating, the standards of professionalisation or the commercial revenue generated. Furthermore, an increasing number of women and girls are reassured that pursuing their passion in football, either on or off the pitch, can be a viable primary career path. A large part of this success can be attributed to the dedication of FIFA’s 211 member associations (MAs) around the world and the many thousands within the supporting football ecosystem who work tirelessly to improve the game on many fronts. FIFA is proud of the continuous role that it has played to drive this process, but there is still much work to be done. This is why we have set about compiling the Women’s Football: Member Associations Survey Report 2023, which builds on the findings of the equivalent report published in 2019. The survey featured more than 60 questions and the resulting report was compiled with the support of Deloitte. The report can be used by member associations, confederations and other stakeholders to better understand the current global landscape and identify next steps needed to further accelerate the growth of the game in a tailor-made way.

FIFA Women's Football MA Survey Report - participation growth

Key findings:

  • The number of women and girls playing organised football has increased by nearly a quarter compared to 2019 (up to 16.6 million)

  • 88% of member associations surveyed have a women’s football strategy

  • 67% have a safeguarding policy

  • 55% of member associations have a club licensing system in place at their top tier of domestic women’s football

  • Of the three key revenue streams (matchday, broadcast and commercial), commercial revenue makes up the largest proportion in women’s football today.

  • 34% of women’s top-tier senior domestic competitions have a dedicated women’s football sponsor

  • 12% of member association executive committee members are female

  • 9% of referees are women

  • 5% of coaches are women