Comparing US and European Women's Futbol Leagues: Differences and Similarities

 

Women’s futbol has been on the rise in popularity in both Europe and the US. The most recent Women’s World Cup was the most watched women's sports event with 38.4 million viewers. That being said, there are distinct differences in European futbol organizations and US soccer organizations. 

One of the most prominent contrasts is pay. Take FC Barcelona Women’s team for example. The club is ranked number one in this season's standings so far, while their male counterparts are in third place in La Liga. The women’s team in Barcelona makes between 60k-120k euros a year depending on experience and skills, while the men’s players make around 5-40 million euros. The difference in pay is drastic. On the other hand, in the U.S. after the recent equal pay lawsuit, the women’s players will be awarded $24 million and a pledge from the U.S. soccer federation to receive equal pay moving forward. This is a big step for women's soccer and other countries hope to follow in the same direction. 

Even though the U.S. women’s team is getting paid more than the European women’s teams in Spain the popularity of the sport is far behind that of other European countries. The top women’s sport followed in the U.S. is professional and NCAA basketball. In Spain, it’s futbol. There is a great emphasis on youth player development within FC Barcelona, with that being said focus has been mainly on young boys. Barca Academy coaches both boys and girls from the ages of 6-18 in the art of Barca style. La Masia welcomed girls into the academy in 2021, so it is a relatively new program for the club. In the US, there are all types of youth development programs including the Olympic Development Program. Five of the NWSL teams also have youth programs available to help young girls develop their skills.                                                                                                                                                                     Another comparison I want to make is the viewership that both Women's European futbol leagues and the NWSL bring both on television and in the stadiums. In the last NWSL Championship game about 817,000 people tuned in to CBS. In ticket sales, the NWSL saw a 26% increase in 2023, selling around 1.2 million tickets. UEFA Women's Champions league reached around 3.6 million cumulative viewers world wide in 2022. With the last Women's Champion league final against Barcelona and Wolfsburg, more than 34,100 people bought tickets to be in attendance.

As we talked about in class, the European futbol leagues don't use a draft system so the top players are usually unequally divided between the league. The wealthier teams get the best players because they can pay them the most money. In the US, there is a draft system college students can enter as well as a salary cap. This is to ensure that competition is distributed well enough between the league to offer competitive matches throughout the season. 

In my opinion, I think the US is far behind Europe in regards to popularity and viewership of futbol in both men and women's leagues. The competition in the European leagues is also to a higher caliber. What I will say is there is increasing development in the US women's national team. They have won four World Cup titles, four gold medals, and haven't come in less than third place in the World Cup. That is a lot more than the men's national team has to account for. The USNMT has never won a World Cup or and gold medals. 

Hopefully with the rise in popularity in Women's futbol we can see more media deals and ticket sales for both Europe and the US. People want to watch female sports but half the time these games and matches are stuck behind media walls or not getting the coverage they deserve. Since being in Barcelona I have heard so many people talking about the FC Barcelona Men's team and getting tickets to their games, but haven't once heard anyone talk about the women's team. With Generation Z bringing an increase in viewership numbers for female sports, I hope to see these women get the money and the coverage they deserve. 

Sources

Corporativa, Iberdrola. “The Unstoppable Growth of Women’s Football in Europe.” Iberdrola, www.iberdrola.com/social-commitment/women-sport/women-football/women-football-europe. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024. 

Das, Andrew. “U.S. Soccer and Women’s Players Agree to Settle Equal Pay Lawsuit.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Feb. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/02/22/sports/soccer/us-womens-soccer-equal-pay.html. 

Esposito, Manuel. “How Much Do Female FC Barcelona Players Make? – 2024 Salary.” SoccerFeed, 15 Jan. 2024, soccerfeed.net/how-much-do-female-fc-barcelona-players-make/. 

Fitzgerald, Toni. “The Fastest-Growing Audiences on TV Are for Women’s Sports.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 1 Dec. 2022, www.forbes.com/sites/tonifitzgerald/2022/11/28/the-fastest-growing-audiences-on-tv-are-for-womens-sports/?sh=356bbf9e2242. 

Gonzalez, Álvaro. “Women’s Sports Provide a Direct Avenue for Brands to Reach Younger Audiences.” Barça Innovation Hub, 20 Dec. 2023, barcainnovationhub.fcbarcelona.com/blog/womens-sports-revolution-paradigm-shift/. 

“How Do Major European Leagues Compare to the NWSL? What Are the Major Differences between the Two??” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Jan. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzR-_w81Kjs. 

“La Masia Opens Doors to First Female Residents.” Official FC Barcelona Website, 1 Aug. 2021, www.fcbarcelona.com/en/football/womens-football/news/2203775/la-masia-opens-doors-to-first-female-residents.