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Women’s Sport Gains Traction In 2022

Written by MOS Editorial Team

Published on 22 December 2022

The progress of women’s sport came leaps and bounds in 2022, whether it was attendance records being broken, increases in broadcast viewership or even equal pay for female athletes.

In January, the women’s US Open for golf announced that it would double its prize money to $10 million, before Tennis Australia launched its women’s leadership program and the Women’s Six Nations announce TikTok as its title sponsor.

In February, the WNBA and its teams were valued at $1 billion, which was followed by Fox Sports creating a dedicated channel for the ICC Women’s World Cup and news that women’s sport recorded 33 million views in the previous year.

April saw Sky Sports acquire the broadcast rights to W Series, while Football Australia launched the Legacy ‘23 Ambassador Program in the lead up to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, which was followed by the AFL introducing their 2022 women and girls action plan in June.

July was a big month for women’s sport, where NZ Cricket announced equal pay standards, Sandra Douglass Morgan became the first black female president of an NFL franchise, the LPGA sponsors supported athlete pay increases and Sam Kerr became became the first female cover star of the video game, FIFA:

It’s an honour and a dream come true to be on the cover of FIFA 23. It’s been incredible to work with Kylian and the whole EA SPORTS team, and I can’t wait for fans to get their hands on a copy of the game – Sam Kerr

Google then became the first global partner of women’s basketball in August, followed by Sport NZ launching a campaign to support women’s sport in October.

USWNT Wins $24 Million Settlement

The US Women’s National Team (USWNT) won a $24 million settlement following a three-year court battle with the US Soccer Federation (USSF).

Five USWNT athletes filed a wage discrimination complaint to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2016.

Then, in 2019, 28 USWNT athletes filed a class action lawsuit against the USSF for gender discrimination.

In 2020, the case was dismissed, but the USWNT appealed.

In February, a settlement was reached, with the athletes involved receiving $22 million in compensation, with a further $2 million to improve the women’s game as a whole.

As a result of the settlement, the US men’s and women’s team will now receive equal pay for all international matches and tournaments.

Sandra Douglass Morgan Become First Female Black President Of NFL Franchise

Sandra Douglass Morgan was named president of Las Vegas Raiders in July, becoming the first black woman to be president of an NFL team.

Morgan, a Nevada local, chaired the Nevada Gaming Control Board and was formerly city attorney for the City of North Las Vegas.

She took over from Dan Ventrelle, who was president for less than a year.

Whoever comes out on top, England against Germany at the iconic Wembley Stadium will be one for the history books and an unforgettable event for a whole generation – Nadine Kessler, UEFA chief of women’s football

Women’s Football Reaches New Heights

The semi-final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League broke several attendance records in women’s football.

91,553 spectators attended the match between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou in April.

It is the highest ever attendance for a women’s football match, beating the 90,185 that watched the 1999 World Cup Final between China and the USA.

Then, in July the Women’s Euros broke further records.

The opening game had an attendance of 68,781, breaking the Women’s Euros record from the 2013 final.

That record was then surpassed in the final, with 87,192 at Wembley to watch England beat Germany.

The final also broke television records with 17.4 million viewers tuning in, beating the 11.7 million that watched the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup.

NZ Cricket Announces Equal Pay Grades

New Zealand Cricket announced equal pay grades for male and female cricketers.

New Zealand Cricket negotiated the deal with the New Zealand Cricket Players Association and the six domestic associations.

Announced in July, the deal runs for five years and sees contracts for female cricketers increase from $83,000 to a maximum of $163,250.

Match fees for international appearances have increased to $10,250 for test matches, $4,000 for ODIs and $2,500 for T20s for both men and women.

Contracts playing domestic cricket have increased from $3,500 to a maximum of $20,000.

NRLW Years Away From Becoming Professional

NRL CEO, Andrew Abdo, has claimed the NRLW doesn’t have the adequate structure to become a professional league.

Speaking at the launch of the 2021 NRLW season in February, Abdo said that he was unsure of how many years it would take to professionalise the league.

Increased investment in women’s rugby league, particularly at a foundational level, will push the NRLW towards professionalism.

The end goal is for NRLW athletes to be able to train and play in a professional environment while earning an athlete’s salary.

However, Abdo also hinted that endorsements would continue to be a far more lucrative income stream for NRLW players.

To round out 2022…

In November, FIFA released a report stating the marketability of women’s sport has risen over the past 12 months, which was followed the ITF and LTA signing an international treaty to support female athletes. The year was rounded out by Formula 1 announcing an all-female driver category in December.