In 2024, more than a third (35%) of total social media engagement with the Women’s Super League (WSL) came through individual player accounts – higher than the Premier League (27%). Yet, the WSL estimates half of its players still don’t have a brand sponsor.
This is something Ella Toone, England Lioness and Manchester United midfielder, wants to change as she launches creative agency Amicizia Studios with her long-term agent James Marshall.
“There’s a really big gap in the market. Women’s football is growing and growing, and more brands can be involved in that,” Toone tells Marketing Week.
In 2024, more than a third (35%) of total social media engagement with the Women’s Super League (WSL) came through individual player accounts – higher than the Premier League (27%). Yet, the WSL estimates half of its players still don’t have a brand sponsor.
This is something Ella Toone, England Lioness and Manchester United midfielder, wants to change as she launches creative agency Amicizia Studios with her long-term agent James Marshall.
“There’s a really big gap in the market. Women’s football is growing and growing, and more brands can be involved in that,” Toone tells Marketing Week.
For brands, tapping into women’s football is highly effective. Women’s sports fans are twice as likely to purchase products endorsed by female athletes compared to other influencers, according to research from Deloitte. Fans for women’s sport are 54% more aware of sponsors and 45% more inclined to consider or purchase from brands sponsoring women’s sports.
‘A clear growth area’: TikTok on the opportunity of women’s sport
While the commerciality of women’s sport has skyrocketed, brands aren’t taking a broad approach to the players they collaborate with, perhaps unwilling to take a risk on a less-known player.
“When you see brands getting involved, a lot of it is with the same players and that’s where we come in,” says Toone.
She explains there are many players without sponsorship deals, but with “big personalities” who aren’t being given the opportunity to show this to audiences and fans.
Therefore, Toone feels it’s the “right time” to launch her agency after building a strong, sustainable platform.
“It’s nice to be able to use my platform to start something like this, to make sure that I give other people an opportunity as well in the sport,” she states.
One of England’s leading players, Toone has signed sponsorship deals with the likes of Nike, Impulse and Charlotte Tilbury, with platforms spanning a podcast, YouTube channel, wider social media and a book.
Amicizia Studios will produce her personal content, connecting Toone with more brands, while also offering a platform to connect other female footballers with brand partners and marketing campaigns. In terms of services, the work will range from content development, creative consultancy and PR, led by Marshall.
“It’s important these partnerships keep happening, and different people get involved, and [brands] use different people,” says Toone on why the agency is taking a broader approach.
Not many players in the weeks leading up to a major tournament like the Euros, which kicks off next month, would go all in on a project with this ambition. However, the timing is intentional.
“It’s changing and growing all the time, and obviously this summer there’s a massive tournament happening, so that’s when brands more likely get involved in the build-up to a big summer,” she explains. “The timing is perfect.”
Understanding the audience
Four in five brand decision makers say they are likely to invest in women’s sport sponsorship in the next three years, according to research from the Women’s Sport Trust earlier this year.
More than half (55%) of those are targeting women’s football and 73% of brands surveyed say they are likely or somewhat likely to invest in individual female athletes.
Fans of women’s football aren’t one homogenous group, even though brands in the past may have treated them as such.
In terms of her audience, Toone says hers is made up of “a lot of young girls” who can relate to her.
“As a female footballer you’re a role model and that is to a lot of young girls starting out in their journeys. And you look at the crowds and there are a lot of families involved in that. But like I say, it’s getting bigger and better,” she states.
Women’s football fans are diverse, Toone adds, and brands should take this into consideration when investing their budgets in the sport.
“There are so many different [brands] getting involved in women’s football that you can actually work with so many different audiences. But mine, specifically, is a lot of young girls and that’s nice for me, because I know that I can relate to them. I can show them that I’m just a normal person,” says Toone.
When trying to understand how to connect with female footballers and their audiences, it makes sense to work with someone with firsthand experience, suggests Marshall.
“I only work with brands that can relate to me. Obviously there’s so many different brands getting involved in women’s sport, and women’s football especially, but for me it’s about choosing the right ones that fit me,” adds Toone. “For me to be able to work with brands that I’ve been working with recently is a pinch me moment.”
