By David Gold
July 22 – The popularity of the Women’s World Cup, which concluded last Sunday (July 17) with Japan’s dramatic penalty shoot out win against the United States, was demonstrated by provisional profit figures and the success of MATCH Hospitality in selling 28,000 commercial hospitality packages for the tournament.
The tournament was also estimated to have made €7.6 million (£6.7 million/$11 million) in profit.
The vast majority of packages came from Germany, the tournament hosts, whilst seven per cent came from mainly Japan and the USA.
MATCH Hospitality is the exclusive rights holder worldwide for the FIFA Hospitality Programme for the Confederations and World Cups in Brazil in 2013 and 2014, as well as the next women’s World Cup in Canada the following year.
It has previously held the same rights for the South Africa World and Confederations Cups in 2009 and 2010.
Suites and FIFA business seats were almost sold out, with 2,500 commercial packages for the final available, second only to the opening game in Berlin which saw 3,930 on offer.
The “Games in the City” programmes were the most successful in women’s football history, with prices ranging from €175 (£144/$224) to €325 (£268/$415), comparable with the games in the German Bundesliga.
The success demonstrates the growing strength of women’s football, as well as its appeal to both the mass and corporate audiences.
A full capacity crowd of 48,000 watched the final last week, when Japan twice came from behind against the USA before winning 3-1 on penalties.
The programmes offered private suites, lounges, marquee tents, gourmet catering, preferential parking, entertainment, transport and gifts, in addition to the match day ticket.
The success of the programmes was largely down to new marketing approaches and a close relationship with stadium operators.
Jaime Byrom, executive chairman of MATCH, said: “The success of the 2011 programme is due to an innovative approach which focused on a more feminine look and feel, and was carried through in our catering with light and fresh food on offer.
“What is more, demand for hospitality packages came from many new clients, especially small and medium enterprises in and around the host cities.”
The organising committee of the tournament said that projected income from the World Cup was over €50 million (£44 million/$72 million), half of which came from the sale of 782,000 tickets.
German Football Federation President Theo Zwanziger put the success down to higher ticket sales than expected and hailed a “tremendous success”.
€5 million (£4.4 million/$7.2 million) of the profit will be spent on promoting the women’s game with another €1 million (£883,000/$1.4 million) going to German disabled sport.
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