Page 3 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.16 2021-22

Barclays doubles investment

Barclays, the FA and the Premier League have announced new three-year deals to extend the bank’s
sponsorships of the football organisations’ elite competitions from the start of the 2022-23 season
until the end of the 2024-25 season. The renewals come as Barclays and the Premier League celebrate
20 years since the bank first partnered with the League under the Barclaycard brand in 2001.
Barclays will invest more than £30 million in women’s and girls’ football over the period
from 2022-2025, doubling the existing investment, and setting a new record for investment in UK
women’s sport. The announcement follows its groundbreaking deal with the FA in 2019 when the
bank became the inaugural title sponsor of the FA Women’s Super League.
The bank will also become the first title sponsor of the FA Women’s Championship. The
league will be called the Barclays FA Women’s Championship from the start of the 2022-23 season,
as Barclays and The FA aim to support the development of the second tier of the women’s competition
pyramid and encourage further investment in women’s football.
Barclays will also increase its investment in girls’ grassroots development, extending its
sponsorship of The FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships with the aim of giving girls equal access to
football in schools. Since Barclays became sponsor of the FAGFSP in 2019 it has seen 9,700 new
schools join the scheme taking the total to over 12,000. The increased funding will help The FA
expand the number of people working on the programme and achieve the aim of 20,000 schools
offering football to girls by 2024.
To encourage participation in football at every level, from January 2022 an innovative new
Barclays community fund will be offering grants and support resources to grassroots groups. Barclays
have partnered with UK-wide charity Sported to make small grants available for groups wishing to
start offering football, or those keen to expand their existing provision to new audiences. Details will
be announced at a later date, but the fund will primarily support young people in deprived or
underrepresented areas through local organisations, many of whom are not yet benefitting from the
wider football pyramid.
Sasha Wiggins, Group Head of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility, Barclays said:
“We are delighted to announce the agreements with The FA and Premier League at a time when we
are celebrating our long term commitment to English football. Collectively we have been through
extraordinarily difficult times over the last 18 months and over that time football has done much to
help raise spirits and bring people together. Yet we are also aware that this is an important time to
drive equity across the game. The doubling of our investment in women’s and girls’ football, whilst
continuing to support men’s football, and providing finance to the smallest football organisations
through the new community fund, is the right way to support the future of the game for everyone’s
benefit.”
Kelly Simmons, The FA’s Director of Women’s Professional Game, said “Barclays have
played a crucial role in the growth of women’s and girls’ football, so it is excellent news that they are
committing to a new record investment in the women’s and girls’ pyramid until 2025. As part of The
FA’s 2020-2024 Women’s and Girls’ strategy, Inspiring Positive Change, we set ourselves the
ambition of providing equal access for all girls at 90% of primary and secondary schools in the UK,
and Barclays continued support and investment has allowed us to make great strides in achieving this
ambition.”
Will Brass, Premier League Chief Commercial Officer, said: "Barclays has always been a
fantastic partner of the Premier League, and we are very pleased to be extending our long-standing
association for another three years.
“Over two decades Barclays has demonstrated their support for football, both on and off the
pitch. And together we share an ambition of creating opportunities at all levels and ensuring everyone
is welcome to enjoy the game. We look forward to further developing our relationship over the
coming years."
To mark the new partnerships, representatives from the Premier League, The FA and
Barclays were joined by Barclays Football Ambassador Kelly Smith at Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub
in west London. A coaching session for girls from a local school was taking place at the facility, which
officially launched earlier this year following funding from the Premier League, The FA and
Government’s charity, the Football Foundation.
Issue no. 16 - 16 December 2021 womenssoccerscene@mail.com