Sunday’s England v Spain match set to be most-watched women’s football match in UK history, benefiting food, drink and hospitality industries
The climax of the exhilarating women’s Euros, as the Lionesses attempt to atone for their loss to Spain at the World Cup, is poised to be the most-watched women’s football match in UK history with the tournament providing a more than £800m boost to supermarkets, pubs and retailers.
With Sunday’s showdown aired on both ITV and the BBC, and their respective streaming services, TV industry executives expect that, with the help of a family-friendly 5pm kick-off time, viewing will eclipse the 14.8 million peak audience when England lost 1-0 to Spain in Sydney two years ago, if the match is close.
England’s series of thrillers, after a drubbing in the opening match, has led to a surge in popularity for the tournament, with the semi-final win over Italy providing ITV with its biggest TV audience of the year.
The growing momentum means that, by the final whistle on Sunday evening, it is estimated that the UK public will have spent more than £800m during the tournament, according to research by GlobalData for VoucherCodes. This is £221m more than was spent by consumers during the women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.
