Women's elite sports revenues to surpass $2.35 billion in 2025, says Deloitte

Deloitte's latest forecast indicates that global women's elite sports event revenue will reach at least $2.35 billion in 2025. This follows the exceeding of initial forecasts for 2024, with revenue reaching $1.88 billion, surpassing the original prediction of $1.28 billion. Overall, women's elite sports event revenue is projected to grow by 240% in four years, compared to Deloitte's 2022 market valuation of $692 million.

In 2024, commercial revenue, including sponsorships, partnerships, merchandise sales, and pre-season tour revenue, surpassed the $1 billion mark for the first time, accounting for 55% of women's sports event revenue. This signifies a substantial increase in the commercial value of women's sports.

Commercial revenue is expected to continue to hold the largest share of women's sports event revenue in 2025, as organizations are able to secure greater brand recognition and attention, as well as more lucrative contracts. Deloitte's forecast also shows that broadcasting and matchday revenue will also grow significantly. This trend reflects the increasing appeal and commercial potential of women's sports events.

Basketball and soccer remain the two highest-grossing sports, projected to generate $1.03 billion and $820 million in revenue respectively in 2025. Basketball is poised to become the leading global source of revenue for women's sports events, driven by the emergence of new star athletes, which is boosting matchday attendance, merchandise sales, and investment in facilities.

While global women's soccer revenue is projected to increase from $740 million in 2024 to $820 million in 2025, women's basketball revenue is expected to jump from $710 million to $1.03 billion. This significant growth indicates the rapidly increasing popularity and commercial value of women's basketball worldwide.

Jennifer Haskel, Knowledge and Insight Lead for Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said: "The growth of women’s sport continues to outpace expectations, with competitions, leagues, clubs and athletes generating significant returns, despite limited resources. Critically, the industry is moving beyond short-sighted metrics to focus on developing structures and legacy projects through enhanced investment and bold action."

North America and Europe are expected to remain the highest-grossing markets for women's sports events, but Deloitte anticipates seeing further growth, investment, and professionalization in new and existing markets in the coming years. New investment structures can unlock more investment opportunities and dedicated resources for elite women's sports brands and businesses to further improve commercial returns.

Haskel added: "The challenge for the sports industry, brand partners and investors in 2025 and beyond will be doing things differently. This will enable them to better understand the opportunities in the market and capitalise on the current growth trajectory of women’s sport to create an ecosystem in which women’s sport can thrive."

Major events and global competitions are also expected to generate substantial revenue, igniting long-term enthusiasm for women's sports among new fans. The Rugby World Cup 2025 in England has already sold a record number of tickets, while the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027, to be held in Brazil for the first time, aims to further tap into emerging markets for women's soccer.

Haskel concluded: "Major events are driving awareness and engagement in many sports and territories, but there needs to be intentional action after these key moments to drive domestic success for leagues and clubs. It’s no longer enough to just host an event – organizers must be bold and consider new ways to engage fans and drive participation long after the champions have been crowned."