69% of Brands Are Investing in Women's Sport. Sponsorship Is Moving Into A New Phase

Sixty-nine percent sounds like a landslide. Read the survey definition and it looks a little different.

A 2026 sponsorship survey of 204 decision-makers across more than 23 countries found that 69.1% were investing in, or considering investing in, women's sport. Those last two words matter a lot, because they cover two very different groups of brands.

The word doing the heavy lifting

"Investing or considering" blends people who have signed contracts with people who have only sat through a meeting. Some of those brands have deals in place and budgets attached. Others are curious. Both count towards the same number.

That doesn't make the figure meaningless. Interest is where every commitment starts, and a majority of decision-makers even looking at women's sport is a sign of how much the conversation has changed. A decade ago, a sponsorship survey like this might have struggled to find enough respondents who took the topic seriously.

But the headline shouldn't be read as 69% of brands writing cheques. Some are, and some aren't yet.

What changed the conversation

Recent events gave brands plenty to look at. The 2025 Women's Euros in Switzerland ended with England beating Spain on penalties in Basel. The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup was played in England and produced record crowds at Twickenham. In the WNBA, Caitlin Clark's arrival in 2024 pushed attendance and viewing figures to new levels.

None of those events created women's sport. They created evidence. Sponsors care about audiences, and audiences that sell out stadiums and stay glued to broadcasts are the kind of proof that finance teams understand.

That's a big shift. For years, backing women's sport was framed as a values decision. Now it can also be justified as a business one.

From emerging category to mainstream market

Here's the argument. The interesting change isn't the number of brands interested. It's how they're talking about it. When sponsorship was new, the pitch was about doing good and getting in early. As it matures, the pitch turns into reach, engagement and return on investment, the same language used for men's football or the NFL.

That's a healthier place to be. Sponsorship built only on goodwill tends to disappear when budgets tighten. Sponsorship built on measurable returns is sturdier, because it survives a tough quarter.

What could still go wrong

There are risks to watch. Rising interest can attract brands that want the halo without the commitment, and short deals that vanish after a year are worse for a league than none at all. Athletes and clubs should also be careful about being treated as marketing assets rather than as competitors.

There's the risk of concentration, too. A handful of high-profile stars and marquee events can absorb most of the money, leaving smaller leagues and lower divisions with the same funding struggles as before. A rising tide doesn't automatically lift every boat.

And then there's patience. The strongest sponsorship relationships are built over years. A brand that pulls out after one season because the numbers weren't spectacular hasn't understood how audiences grow.

So is women's sport really becoming a mainstream part of the sponsorship market, or is a lot of that 69% still just curiosity? And how many of those brands will still be there in five years?