The Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) has named Subway as the official title partner of the Women’s League Cup in the UK.
As part of the multi-year agreement, the competition will be rebranded as the Subway Women’s League Cup, starting this season. Both the WPLL and Subway have emphasised the significance of investing in the future of women’s football.
Nikki Doucet, CEO of WPLL, commented: “We are thrilled that Subway have come on board as title partner for the Women’s League Cup as we continue on our journey to build the most distinctive, competitive and entertaining women’s football club cup competition in the world.
“We need partners like Subway who believe in our vision to transform the game and are committed to developing opportunities both on and off the pitch for women in football”.
This partnership also allows the restaurant brand to extend its “Fresh Moves” initiative into football. Launched earlier this year, the initiative promotes physical activity through collaborations with sports organisations like GB Basketball, Breaking GB and Skateboard GB.
Kirstey Elston, EMEA Brand and UK and Ireland Marketing Director at Subway, said: “The partnership with WPLL represents a significant step forward in our Fresh Moves initiative.
“By partnering with the Women’s League Cup, we’re not just investing in a well-established domestic competition, we’re investing in the future of women’s football, aligning with our mission to make sport more inclusive and accessible in the UK.”
The benefits of a focused approach
2024 has been a pivotal year for women’s football in England. In August, the WPLL took over the Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL) and the Barclays Women’s Championship from the Football Association (FA).
Under WPLL’s leadership this year, the sport has flourished. It secured a £65m broadcasting deal with Sky and BBC, partnered with Anomaly to boost branding and fan engagement, and signed a record deal with Barclays, which remains the title sponsor for the top two leagues.
In addition to the commercial successes, women’s football has seen significant growth overall.
According to marketing agency Two Circles, it became the fifth most attended sport in the UK in 2024 when considered separately from the men’s game. The agency reported that 2.12 million people attended women’s football matches this year, marking a 38% increase from 2023.
A key factor driving this growth is the use of larger stadiums, often shared with men’s teams. For example, one of Arsenal‘s matches at the Emirates Stadium attracted 52,000 fans, compared to just 3,595 at their usual venue, Meadow Park.
There hasn’t just been success seen at the top of the women’s football pyramid, however. At the grassroots level, there are more and more charities looking to play their part in this success.
Earlier this month, Insider Sport spoke with Charlie Hyman, Founder and CEO of Bloomsbury Football, who discussed the organisation’s Girls Strategy.
As part of this initiative, the charity has committed to achieving a 50/50 gender split in its programmes by 2028, with the goal of having 10,000 young girls participating in organised football every week.
