Knowledge, networking, thousands of kids, and..ummm…periods.
I’m just back from 3 days in Copenhagen with CMG, the world’s oldest agency representing female footballers, where I had the chance to meet in person their inspirational CEO, former Juventus/Sweden player Maria Karlsson De Cecco, and her team as they hosted their 4th Women’s Football Expo (WFE).
The event provided a platform for crucial discussions on the advancement of women’s football – one significant aspect highlighted was the use of data to drive growth and understanding within the sport.
Brilliantly MC’d by Lotta Schelin, another former Swedish professional footballer, widely regarded as one of the greatest female strikers of her generation, her anecdotal style added a highly relevant and personal touch to the proceedings.
Key Take Aways from the Women’s Football Expo
Maurizio Valenti, Manchester Metropolitan University, who shared the European Clubs Assoc research showing the gender skew when it comes to interest in women’s football: 52% female and 48% male. I know we can see that anecdotally looking around a stadium, but interesting to see it on paper, as an outcome of focussed, multi-territory research.
Nadia Shahrestani CMgr MCMI, Chelsea FC Women, who busted a huge myth. Who knew that the cross-over of fans of a men’s team buying tickets for the women’s is low…..very low? Chelsea’s experience is just a 4% to 6% cross-sell despite focussed activity with their men’s audience.
Both of these points reiterate the generally held belief that when it comes to the women’s game, we are dealing with, and looking for, new fans.
The same sport. New audiences. And a key discussion point at the WFE, new experiences.
Rita Guarino, Head Coach of Inter Milan’s Women’s A Team, who took the time to share with me some nuances about the physiology of the women’s game versus the men’s, and the challenges of being a national team coach vs a club coach. Yes I’ve worked in football for 35 years, but only ever on the business side – now with the creation of ProDataStack, which is wholly focussed on supporting professional athletes – I’m finding it quite fascinating to understand more about the performance side.
Sarah Gregorius, FIFPRO, who helped us understand the significant role they play in supporting footballers around the world through their 66 members.
My last shout out goes to the opportunity we all got to experience the Gothia Cup – the biggest event you’ve never heard of! 30,000 kids supported by 2,500 volunteers playing in 4,500 football matches across 7 days. It deserves to be classed as a movement not an event – it represents everything that’s good about life, presented through the activities of thousands of children.
And finally, my last comment on the WFE. It was my first conference in 35 years working in sport, that a discussion around the differences between men and women incorporated an open discussion around periods. Eilish McColgan, you’d have been very proud as we followed in the footsteps of your article.
ProDataStack at the WFE 2024
We were at the WFE to launch ProDataStack to the women’s football audience. And as previously announced, CMG is the second client joining our roster of football agents. If you would like to read more about this partnership please click here.
Demo’ing the ability of our software to give athletes access to their data, to a room full of people who had one objective in mind – to grow the women’s game – was empowering. And then to hear the former footballers bemoan the fact it wasn’t available during their lifetime, was even more so.
Agents and footballers, if you’d like to look at the power of ProDataStack, please book a demo today.
And anyone who wants to know more about women’s football, add WFE to your resources and bookmark this website.
