Recently, the club played host to more than 50 guests as we hosted our first ever Women’s Football Summit at London Stadium, in partnership with Maldon Accident Repair Centre.
Guests were welcomed into the Chairman's Suite by vice-chairman, Baroness Karren Brady, who opened proceedings by sharing her thoughts on the strides being taken within the ever-growing women's game.
Vice-chairman Brady discussed a number of topics within her keynote, including the strong commercial opportunity and growth in women’s football, as well as the impact that recent major tournaments have had in growing the exposure of the game.
"West Ham United women's team are truly entering a magnificent and exciting new era. As such, elevating our women’s team is a Board priority," Baroness Brady told guests in her welcoming address.
Two panel discussions, hosted by TNT Sports presenter, Becky Ives followed, with Nikki Doucet, CEO of NewCo, Stephanie Wilks-Wiffin, Director of Marketing at eToro, and Becks Martin, Director of Group Sponsorship and Planning at Barclays- all speaking at length on the commercial landscape of women's football and the opportunity for sponsorship and growth.
Nikki Doucet commented on the rapid growth of the women’s game, highlighting that it is only set to continue over the next few years.
“Your cost of entry to get in now to be part of that story to help build that (referring to women’s football being sustainable) is really really low, because I’m going to tell you it’s going to be at least 10 to 50 times higher in the next five years”
Women's First-Team Manager, Rehanne Skinner spoke alongside First Team players, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir and Emma Snerle about the growth of the game from a manager and a player’s perspective, the high-performance environment being created on a daily basis at West Ham United, as well as the benefits of commercial support.
Skinner spoke of the importance of raising the profile of the women's game through sponsorship and investment.
"The Club is looking to try and elevate the women's team and we want to try and generate more support for the team.
"People behind the scenes have been working incredibly hard to raise the profile whilst also helping businesses understand the growth of the game, as well as the team here at West Ham.
Nathan Thompson, Chief Commercial Officer at West Ham United, helped bring the event to a close by firstly thanking the Club’s existing partners that were in the room, but also in encouraging prospective partners to join the West Ham family.
Speaking after the event, he said: “From a commercial perspective, the potential associated with women’s football cannot be understated. As a Club, we pride ourselves on the accessibility to join our West Ham family and the significant return on investment that our existing partners are already seeing.
To find out more information on the commercial opportunities with West Ham United women please contact: [email protected]
For further information on Maldon Accident Repair Centre, please visit their website at maldonarc.co.uk
