How do WSL clubs make money?

Chelsea made big moves during the January 2025 women's transfer window - g two players for six-figure fees, one of which was a world record.

Here BBC Sport breaks down the different ways clubs in England's top women's league make money, and what factors influence transfer spending.

There are three main sources of revenue: matchdays, broadcast deals, and commercial deals or partnerships.

Most WSL clubs will also receive some from their men's teams, in the form of inter-company loans.

Matchday revenue - through ticket sales, food and merchandise - relies on strong attendances. Last season, the cumulative attendance for both the WSL and Women's Championship ed one million. This was linked to an increasing number of games being played at stadiums used by clubs' men's sides.

Those increased attendances translate into greater commercial interest.

WSL teams can often benefit from commercial deals struck at club level, alongside the men's team. This can involve things like kit suppliers and shirt sponsors.

But we are also seeing WSL clubs strike commercial partnerships independently from their men's side. For example, Arsenal Women have Mastercard, technology company ABBYY and beauty band Il Makiage as women's team-specific partners.

Clubs also benefit from league sponsors as a whole. In September 2024, a new deal worth £45m was agreed for Barclays to continue as the title sponsor for the WSL. Worth in the region of £15m a year, this stood at double the previous arrangement.

Then there's broadcast deals.

In October 2024, the Women's Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) - the company of which WSL clubs are shareholders - announce the league had agreed a new broadcast deal with the BBC and Sky Sports, which runs through to 2030.

The money generated from these rights is shared between WSL clubs.

According to the Deloitte Football Money League 2025,, external which analyses the top women's clubs according to revenue, Arsenal Women came out on top for the 2023-24 season.

Arsenal had a 64% increase in matchday revenue during that season, linked to the club hosting more matches at the men's home ground, - the Emirates.

They were followed by Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City.

The revenue includes contributions from their associate men's clubs.

Football clubs don't have to disclose how much money is going to their women's teams - in the form of loans - because of ing rules.

That means it's very difficult to compare how much the different WSL clubs are receiving from their parent clubs, and financial will vary.

However, there is an incentive for men's clubs to spend money on the women's sides, because this is not ed for as a cost under the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

So, if these are 'loans', would the women's side be expected to somehow pay the men's side back?

Dr Christina Philippou - a women's football finance expert - said: "We don't know, but if you look at the men's game, lots of loans from owners get turned into equity or they don't get paid back."

We also don't know where the money from these loans is directed.

"Most clubs don't disclose the information," said Dr Philippou. "Is it a loan to spend on wages? Or for investing in back-office staff? Or for infrastructure">