Canadian Women Sports Market - The Time to Invest is Now!

Abbie Parr/Getty Images

The time to invest in women’s sports was honestly yesterday, but Canada still has time to catch up and cash in on the national professional opportunities for women's sports.

Canadian Women & Sport, a nonprofit group dedicated to building an equitable and inclusive sports system in Canada that empowers girls and women, released a report Monday detailing why women’s sports in Canada is such a ripe market and discusses the money that is being left on the table if companies and investors do not take the opportunity.

It is estimated that the nation's professional women's sports market is valued at around $150-$200M showing the untapped profit this market currently possesses .

One of the main attractions for potential investors in professional women's sports steers to the growth that women’s sports are currently experiencing in the U.S.,

- NWSL saw a 70% increase in viewership from the title match in 2022 compared to 2021

- NWSL Club valuations experienced a dramatic increase from $2-5 million USD to $30-100 million USD after Angel City received major investments from 17 A-list investors.

- WNBA experienced a 90% increase in regular season viewership from 2020-2022

Also compared to men’s sports the investment is relatively low in start-up cost with only increasing upside potential especially with growing markets in sports betting, broadcast and media rights, the globalization of sports fandoms. The opportunities do truly seem endless at the moment.

Just to further show that the numbers do not lie here are some more stats around fan interest in women’s sports in Canada according to a survey by Vividata in 2020.

40% of women’s sports fans are between the ages of 18-34 and 30% of women’s sports fans are BIPOC compared to 30% and 20% of men’s sports fans respectively.

The overall view of women’s sports in Canada is also presently very positive; 77% view women as great role models, 49% of participants believe watching women’s sport is as, or more, entertaining than watching men’s sports.

Lastly 78% of women and 57% of men believe that women’s and men’s sports should get equal attention.

You heard the people; Bring them Women’s Sports!

The ball is certainly starting to roll though with the country starting their own soccer league launching in 2025, the first two teams will be the Vancouver Whitecaps FC and the Calgary Foothills Soccer Club. The founding partners of the league are Air Canada and CIBC.

Another great step will be the first WNBA Canada preseason game coming up on May 13th where the Chicago Sky will face off against the Minnesota Lynx at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. This will act as a catalyst for Toronto for their city’s expansion credentials when the league is able to support another expansion reportedly in 2025.

The demographic is different though so the professional women’s sports model cannot be replicated from the professional men’s sports model

The Canadian Women & Sport report included some recommendations on how to successfully sustain and start a tailored business model for the nation's women’s sports.

- Prioritizing multiple revenue streams not just focusing on broadcasting with growing media channels

- Emerging teams and leagues should assort their financial backers and supporters and not limit themselves to the traditional sport investors

- Making sure that the professional women’s sports scene complements the traditional Canadian sport market, by positioning themselves as a distinct proposition for the fans and making it something different to engage in

- Extract the benefits from the full fan experience by using inviting content and growing sectors in the sports media landscape.

- The need to create an inclusive and equitable business model that properly reflects the fans and athletes.

Statistics and evidence like this show more clear than ever that Canadian investors are leaving a lot of money on the table not investing in this growing market.

If these investors do not support these opportunities financially and otherwise, someone else will, and they will lose the pristine chance to cash in on this and chance to help positively mold the landscape of professional women’s sports in North America.