The WSL, which currently sits within the FA, is re-engaging investment bankers at Rothschild to explore whether to raise funding for the top flight from third parties, Sky News learns.
Monday 12 December 2022 22:27, UK
Top football executives are to kick off a fresh search for external funding for the Women's Super League (WSL) amid soaring domestic and international interest in the sport.
Sky News has learned that the WSL board is close to re-engaging bankers at Rothschild to canvas investor interest in the league's commercial rights.
Sources said the WSL could potentially seek as much as £100m in outside financing to fund the development of the competition and the broader women's game.
Rothschild's reappointment - more than 18 months after it was asked by the WSL and Football Association to explore funding options for the league - comes as attendances at WSL matches reach unprecedented heights.
England's victory in the European Championships this summer has sparked a wave of new interest in the game.
Bridgepoint, a private equity firm which recently approached the England and Wales Cricket Board with a proposal to buy a stake in The Hundred, approached the FA about investing in the WSL in 2020.
That approach was rebuffed, since when frequent talks have taken place about the Premier League assuming ownership of the WSL.
Football insiders say the Premier League remains interested in some form of deal, although it is not thought to have tabled a credible proposal yet.
In July, Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA director of women's football, was quoted by The Guardian as saying that it was "working with the [WSL] clubs to create a company which will be an FA subsidiary and the FA will still be there as a shareholder".
The WSL league table is currently led by Chelsea, ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United. The 12 WSL member clubs also include Liverpool, Manchester City and Reading.
The FA has been determined to establish greater financial independence for the elite women's league, and last year secured what was described as a "game-changing" multimillion pound broadcast deal with Sky Sports - which shares an owner with Sky News - and the BBC.
Richard Masters, the Premier League's chief executives, has said publicly that it is interested in taking control of the WSL.
A deal to commercialise and promote the WSL more effectively would provide the FA with a welcome boost to its coffers given the impact of the pandemic.
Barclays has become title sponsor of the WSL and has pledged to inject substantial sums into helping grow the sport at grassroots levels.
The FA also brought in Dawn Airey, a heavyweight media executive, as chair of the WSL and the second tier, the Women's Championship.
The interest of buyout firms in taking a stake in the WSL underlined the ongoing interest in elite sports series from private equity investors.
The FA, Premier League and Rothschild all declined to comment.
