In the musical My Fair Lady, Rex Harrison, as Professor Henry Higgins, repeatedly asks “why can’t a woman be more like a man?”
Now that movie was made nearly 50 years ago when public expression of such sentiments hardly raised an eyebrow.
It’s not a view shared by FIFA president Sepp Blatter who famously suggested that women footballers should wear tighter shorts and lower-cut shirts in a bid to attract more male followers. He was, naturally, ridiculed from Zurich to Zanzibar and back again.
When it comes to promoting and commercially developing women’s sport, neither being more like men nor flaunting femininity would appear to be the answer. The phenomenal success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which had sold more that 600,000 tickets by April, is evidence that if the quality is there the audience will follow.
But there is something of a vicious circle in operation here. Quality tends to be bred by competition and that is fuelled by capable and ambitious athletes being attracted to particular sports. That may well happen in schools but youngsters are just as likely to be inspired by what they watch on television. And although there are signs that things are changing, finding meaningful airtime for women’s sports beyond tennis and track and field is still tough.
It’s hard not to imagine that the business of sport is missing a trick somewhere along the line by not doing more to create platforms for women’s sport. That’s how stars are created, how the imaginations of the public are seized and how the real engagement is created.
The question is whether the industry has the drive and commercial courage to make a commitment to women’s sport in the expectation that the rewards will follow down the line.
If sports marketing is really all about engagement and connectivity, women’s sport offers new channels for reaching new audiences in new ways; FIFA has shown what can be done by building a World Cup showcase for sporting quality rather than marketing gimmickry. The issue is whether other sports can follow suit and if so, which ones.
Here’s what our experts had to say.
Sue Tibballs Chief Executive, Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation: “The opportunities for sponsors and media owners are immense. Commercially, women’s sport can offer superb value for money.”
Hans Westerbeek Professor of Sport Business, Victoria University: “Women’s sport can succeed if the events are organised to the highest possible standard – excellence is the base level.”
Crista Cullen Marketing, Sports Recruitment International: “I see first-hand hockey making a concerted effort to ensure the athletes are consistently on the world stage and increase participation levels at grassroots.”
Rebecca Hopkins Managing Director, ENS: “We compete equally in equestrianism and the world hasn’t ended…sufficiently talented female footballers, snooker and darts players, golfers and sailors could compete alongside men.”
For the full debate see the latest edition of SportBusiness International published June 1.
