32 matches, 16 teams, and countless goals galore, the 2025 UEFA Women’s Euro wrapped up quite nicely as anticipated. For some, it was a heartbreak, while others just lived their fairytale dream, yet overall, all’s well that ends well. But what now, other than all the players returning for their domestic duties? Sure, international friendlies will remain in the picture, but for those awaiting some more serious global entertainment, they shall be on the lookout for the 2027 World Cup.
Yes, an even bigger stage is set to feature some of the most accomplished sides across all the continents. Now, even though we’re still a couple of years away from this prestigious world tournament kicking off, preparations are already well underway. Sure, competing in the UEFA Women’s Euro or even CONMEBOL’s Copa América Femenina—featuring South American powerhouses—is part of the on-field buildup to the ultimate challenge.
But here, we’re talking about developments happening off the pitch. For starters, it looks like the official broadcasters for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup are set as ITV and BBC Sport. The media powerhouses have announced that they have locked in the broadcasting rights to guarantee that UK viewers would be able to watch the premier event in women’s football on free-to-air television. This is a huge relief for those viewers who often complain about paying significant prices to online streaming platforms.
ITV and BBC Sport have secured the rights to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027, ensuring that the biggest tournament in women’s football remains free-to-air for UK audiences. pic.twitter.com/vpOOrglyuL
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 27, 2025
Though it may seem like a regular advancement in preparations for the bigger event, part of the thanks goes to the recently concluded women’s European competition that took place from 2 to 27 July in Switzerland. How so, you ask? Well, let’s start with the surprising response that the Women’s Euros got this season. Consider the Sunday final between England and Spain. The Lionesses successfully defended their 2021 victory by defeating the La Roja ladies 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Surprisingly, the match at the 38,512-capacity St. Jakob-Park was completely sold out, pushing the total tournament attendance to an impressive 657,291. This figure comfortably overtook the previous record of 574,875 set during the last edition in England. Heck, even if this year’s final hadn’t been a sold-out affair, the turnout had already hit 623,088, with 29 of the 31 matches selling out.
In fact, not just the final, but the quarter-final held in Bern featuring Spain vs Switzerland drew 29,734 fans. That number was topped the very next day in Basel, when 34,128 turned out to watch France take on Germany, which is indeed remarkable, considering this high target was set in the absence of a host nation. Likewise, other numbers saw 35% of tickets being snapped up by fans around the world.
According to the data, international fans of over 160 nationalities attended the Euros. Meanwhile, off-pitch fan engagement data showed that over 95,000 fans joined official pre-match walks, including 20,000 in Bern alone ahead of the Switzerland vs Spain game. According to UEFA, over 1 million people also visited the Host City Fan Zones.
All of this combined to make the 2025 UEFA Women’s Euro the most successful and widely attended edition in the tournament’s history. No wonder the UK broadcasters, after seeing the English women lift their second consecutive European trophy, quickly acted to take up the broadcasting rights for the prestigious global tournament, especially knowing that the stakes will be high on Sarina Weigman and Co. potentially lifting the golden trophy.
And the end result of this will surely have a positive impact on how fans respond to the much-anticipated 2027 World Cup. The kind of fanbase and excitement this European tournament has managed to build in just a month is truly remarkable. In fact, it even reminds us of how the men’s competitions have done the same in the past!
Women’s Euro 2025 echoes the Club World Cup plans of uplifting the 2026 gig!
In the case of the Women’s Euro 2025, Switzerland was the host, with the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup taking place in Brazil. However, the recently held FIFA Club World Cup was hosted by the very nation that co-hosts the 2026 Men’s World Cup: the United States of America, a country where the situation of soccer is honestly quite complex, courtesy of the major dominance of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL.
Heck, let’s go for a walk down memory lane, where a Gallup poll issued in 2018 reported that just 7% of Americans named soccer as their favorite sport, while football led the way at 37%, followed by basketball at 11%. But since then, a lot has changed and has been done to uplift the beautiful game in the country. For starters, the international front saw the US Men’s National Team take on concrete steps to change.
Credits: Instagram/Jess Carter
It was fueled after a poor display in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America, as the Stars and Stripes brought in a world-class coach, Mauricio Pochettino. Meanwhile, on the domestic front, we saw David Beckham-run Inter Miami bring Lionel Messi to Major League Soccer, a transfer that surely goes down as the most historic one in sporting history.
And then on top of that, FIFA decided to give the States two big responsibilities: hosting the inaugural revamped Club World Cup alone, but co-hosting the grand World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico. So, in a country where soccer gives mixed responses, what can we expect? Surprisingly enough, a lot!
Initially, the Club World Cup was deemed a complete failure, with FIFA struggling to sell tickets. Rest, glimpses like Atlanta’s 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosting only 22,137 fans during Chelsea vs Los Angeles FC—even though a Monday 3 p.m. kickoff didn’t help—or a report from the Associated Press stating that the first 48 Club World Cup matches across 11 U.S. cities saw over a million empty seats, with average stadium capacity at just 57%, were enough to call it flop. Even the semi-final games saw a turnout of around 35,000 for each game.
However, the story gets interesting after knowing that the final match between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain garnered a crowd of 81,118, which was deemed as the largest crowd MetLife Stadium had ever seen. No wonder FIFA president Gianni Infantino proudly called it “the successful club competition in the world.”
Forget attendance for a while. How does a billion-dollar profit sound? “We’ve generated revenue of more than $2bn. That’s $31m per game. No other club tournament comes close,” said Infantino, while celebrating the success of the Club World Cup, an event whose prize pool alone was worth $1 billion.
No wonder that in 2025, the outlook of Americans regarding soccer has completely changed, with over 35% of the nation’s people calling themselves ardent fans of the game. That’s roughly around 115 million people, a 26% rise compared to what it was three years ago. So, one can say confidently that hosting the Club World Cup was merely a warm-up for the people of the US to prepare for next year’s World Cup.
Ulsan HD and Fluminense FC line up before the start in the Group F – Match 27 FIFA Club World Cup match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on Saturday, June 21, 2025. PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxONLY NYP20250621105 JOHNxANGELILLO
Things are expected to be larger this time in an expanded version of the event that features 48 teams, 104 matches, and games spread across more than 10 American cities. In fact, consider that the base has already been set for the biggest tournament that the US hosts, not only in terms of fanbase but also in other preparations as well. Like New Jersey Transit, looking to pour a whopping $100 million to improve the bus service.
Furthermore, it may sound surprising, but a report from Tourism Economics, part of Oxford Economics, estimates that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will bring in $3.3 billion in revenue for New York and New Jersey between June 11 and July 19. That’s more than the revenue generated during ten years of NFL Sundays at MetLife Stadium. Of that total, about $1.7 billion is expected to come from spending by 1.2 million soccer fans, while the remaining $1.3 billion will be driven by labor income.
So, given how the men’s World Cup is expected to capitalise on the 2026 edition, that too, in a country where the popularity of the beautiful game often fluctuates, there’s no surprise that the 2027 women’s World Cup is also expected to endure a boom. And given how the Women’s Euro 2025 transpired, fingers remain crossed even more. What do you think?
The post Women’s Euro 2025 Mirrors Club World Cup-Like Surge to Set Stage for 2027 FIFA Showcase appeared first on EssentiallySports.
