As the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 approaches, the competition is building greater commercial value as a sponsor for brands, with an expected viewership of 250 million across the world and a ‘record’ number of attendees.
As women’s sport continues to grow, professional footballer and Founder of The Turmeric Co., Thomas Hal Robson-Kanu, spoke with SBC’s Jessie Sale about the unique opportunities for brands, like his, to sponsor events in women’s football which have previously been overlooked.
In regards to the success of the men’s competition, he explained: “The women’s tournament has definitely got the potential to replicate that success. The sport is certainly growing within the uk and globally and the interest is fantastic.
“The women’s game, in terms of the standards around the infrastructure of the sport, has developed particularly over the past five years. The upmcoung Euros for women is a great opportunity to offer a level of commercial value which is something that the sport can continue to build on.”
In regards to partnerships within the women’s game, Robson-Kanu’s turmeric brand has a deal with Crystal palace, and explained how beneficial these deals can be in terms of increasing brand awareness.
He added: “It’s a fantastic partnership where all of the women’s team and backroom staff have access to our products. But again, it’s around building the awareness of that product through the demographic and through wider audiences.”
Having played for a number of clubs and the Wales national team as a pro player, Robson-Kanu has now entered the nutrition industry as founder of The Tumeric Co.
The company uses a recipe of raw turmeric root, ginger and beetroot to develop a nutritional shot with the aim of providing athletes with ‘the immune-boosting, antioxidant and energising properties’ of these ingredients.
In explaining how The Tumeric Co./Crystal Palace collaboration has had a ‘great influence’ within the sport, Robson-Kanu highlighted his views that further healthy brands should follow suit and ‘add to that continued value to society’.
He concluded that brands with partnerships in women’s football are key in spreading awareness in sport via activations and education. He added: “It is important to make sure women’s sport isn’t overlooked at all.
“It’s building that education through society, and particularly for that next generation, understanding a healthy diet leads to a happy healthy life – which is really important.”
Finally, Robson-Kanu concluded that it is important that there is a level of parity between men’s and women’s sports across all of the sporting verticals. In regards to the company’s partnership with Premier Sports Network, he said: “It’s a great opportunity to influence all sports individuals in a progressive and positive way.”
