New Delhi: With the recently concluded Asian Women’s Cup and ICC Women’s World Cup, and some global events in the pipeline, the women’s game is on the rise and so is the interest in the women’s game, finds a new report.
The report’s data from market research and data analytics firm YouGov, taking into account 18 markets across the world, said that across the globe, urban Indian sports fans (those who follow at least one sport) play more women’s sports than men’s. like to watch.
Its ‘Global Sports 2022′ report measures sports fans’ attitudes about issues of social responsibility and equality, delving deeper into sports rights holders and their sponsors’ involvement in these matters and their expectations of eventual champion change.
Although women’s sport is less popular than men’s worldwide, data from its ‘Global Profile’, a global audience intelligence tool, shows that there is an appetite and more than a third (34%) of sports fans agree with this statement. Agreed that ‘I love watching women’s sports. over men.’ Of all the markets surveyed, sports fans in India are most likely to agree with the statement, followed by sports fans in the United Arab Emirates. In contrast, Great Britain has the lowest agreement with the statement, with other European countries such as France, Germany and Italy reporting lower numbers.
In India, an almost equal proportion of men and women sports fans prefer women’s sports as compared to men (51% women, 49% men). However, when age is considered, the younger generation has a significantly higher interest in women’s sports than the rest, with more than half (56%) of those 18–24 years old to say so.
Data from its last year’s ‘Women in Sport Report 2021’ showed that football is the number one favorite sport for women globally, followed by badminton, basketball and tennis. Taking a look at women’s football events, we find that over a third (34%) of global sports fans claim they are ‘really passionate about women’s football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup’. Having said that, support for women’s football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup varies greatly by country.
Half of adult sports fans (50%) in India are passionate about women’s football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, compared to only 16% of British sports fans. Other countries showing their passion for women’s football include the UAE (42%), Germany (40%), Argentina (30%) and Spain (27%).
Sports fans around the world not only have an appetite for women’s sports, but are also more likely than the average consumer to care about issues related to diversity and inclusion, says market research firm ‘Global Profile’ data . Globally, nearly two-thirds (65%) of sports fans agree diversity and inclusion should be considered when putting up events, and nearly seven in ten (68%) feel that ‘sport needs to be more inclusive’. is needed’, suggesting that there is clearly room for improvement within the sector.
Of all the markets surveyed, the desire for sports to be more inclusive is highest among Italian (84%), Argentine (77%) and Indian (75%) sports fans. On the other hand, support for considering diversity and inclusion is more evident in countries such as Indonesia (75%), Germany (74%) and Poland (73%). India’s numbers are almost equal to the global average (63% of Indian sports fans versus 65% of global sports fans).
With the increasing interest in social issues among sports fans, it has become important for marketers to understand the perspectives of sports fans and develop strategies relevant to them so as to stand out among these ‘socially conscious’ groups of sports enthusiasts .
The company said it tracks nearly two million or more data variables, including demographic, psychological, behavioral and behavioral consumer metrics, from its global panel members in 49 markets, with data collected daily and updated weekly.
India’s sports media and sponsorship industry nearly reached 95 billion in FY20 but will be growing at a slow pace to reach A report by sports-related employment agency Sporzo and FICCI said that 150 billion by 2024. It said the industry grew at a CAGR of 14% till 2020.