The Women’s Football Finance Podcast

#Womensfootball #footballbusiness #footballfinance #womenssoccer #soccerbusiness #womensfootballfinance #Chorley #Chorleywomen #FAWNL

We also share operating budget data from across Tiers 3 & 4 and give our take (and Chorley management’s initial reaction) to the FA's new proposals to expand tiers 3 through 6 of the English women's pyramid.

New club Chair, Jonny Slater, provides details of the club's strategy to grow sustainably and goes full '𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘬𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘰' 👘 in sharing the club's detailed financial forecast for the 24/25 season.

And in the spotlight 🔦 is Chorley Women FC, a Tier 4 club with a humble budget but ambitious plans to drive revenue growth, push their team further along the professionalisation curve and higher up the pyramid 📈🔝.

This time out the @twffpod.bsky.social team headed north to delve into the financial realities in the often-overlooked middle tiers.

🎙️ 💷 ⚽ Now Presenting...
𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 (with Jonny Slater, Chair, Chorley Women FC)! twffpod.alitu.com

Ever wondered what it costs to operate a women's team in the middle tiers of the English women's football pyramid?

PLUS you get Val, Dave and Steve's take on the 𝗡𝗪𝗦𝗟 free agency stampede, the 𝘶𝘯-𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 of BOS Nation and Santa's 🎅 𝗪𝗦𝗟 Panini sticker book generosity 💸.

Tune in now! 🎧

🎙️⚽ We're back and kicking off 2025 with a brand new episode! twffpod.alitu.com

Join us for a good 'ol chinwag with football finance expert 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘂 (@cphilippou.bsky.social) to explore the challenges of valuing a European women's football team.

What’s needed is more investment in these tiers to accelerate the professionalisation curve and make teams more competitive with the professionals.

But with WSL and WC operating costs continuing to outpace revenues, who is brave enough to bet £ on pushing a Tier 3/4 women's team up to the summit?

As the WSL and Championship gain more and more exposure over the coming years, will more money trickle down to the lower tiers of the pyramid to allow it to put down firmer roots and provide a better platform for growth?

Perhaps. But that will certainly be a slow journey.

These relatively minuscule operating budgets make it difficult for them to improve their squads and compete for promotion. And even newly promoted sides often find it difficult to survive without additional deficit funding from an owner or affiliated men’s teams.

Many clubs at these levels don’t receive meaningful support from owners or affiliated men’s teams (if any), so they rely mainly on ticket sales, food & beverage sales, local sponsorships, and (if eligible) small grants from the FA, to balance the budget.

In Tier 4, the average budget is a mere £𝟵𝟳𝗸, with the upper, middle and lower averages being £𝟮𝟬𝟬𝗸, £𝟲𝟱𝗸 and £𝟯𝟭.𝟱𝗸, respectively.

It's impressive that they're able to run a team with those figures, and carries some lessons for clubs elsewhere.

According to data from England's FA, the average budget for a Tier 3 side in the Women's National League is around £𝟯𝟳𝟯𝗸, with the upper, middle and lower averages being £𝟳𝟯𝟴𝗸, £𝟮𝟴𝟲𝗸 and £𝟵𝟳𝗸.

Women's Players in Tiers 3 & 4 in England are a mix of semi-professional and amateur; most hold down full or part-time jobs or studies and train once or twice a week. Attendances, revenues and costs at these levels tend to be significantly lower than in the WSL and Women's Championship.

Ever wondered what the operating budgets look like a bit further down the English women’s football pyramid 🤔❓ Say, in Tiers 3 and 4 where Leeds and Nottingham Forest play against clubs like Gwalia United? Read on for some little-known figures.

🎙️ New episode alert ‼️ (🔗 twffpod.alitu.com)

The team huddle up with Jennifer Haskel of the 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽, for a look at Deloitte's market-leading research and projects on women's football finance. @deloitteinsights.bsky.social #footballfinance #womensfootball #soccerfinance