From glory to guidance: why the Lionesses' triumph highlights the need for smart financial planning - IFA Magazine

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Adam Osper, Managing Partner at Evelyn Partners, who specialises in advising sports professionals, comments:

"As the Lionesses bask in their Euro 2025 success, their victory once again propels women's sport to the top of the news agenda. From football to the Red Roses preparing to host the 2025 Rugby World Cup on home soil, the Netball Super League taking the first steps towards professionalisation and more, women's sport is on a rapid ascent, not only attracting recognition but also investment. The Lionesses' back-to-back Euros triumph not only cements the growing stature of women's sport but could also marks a pivotal shift in the earning potential of female athletes.

"While the top female stars of the beautiful game will inevitably see their earning potential soar, as the professionalistion of football - along with other sports - continues to grow, their success masks some of the challenges women footballers face. These include the gap between their earning power and those of their male counterparts. Not all players are able to secure high incomes and even those that do are more likely to do so on the back of lucrative sponsorship deals.

"Top women footballers also face the same constraints other elite sports stars do, namely that a career in sport is typically short as it relies on the physical prowess of an athlete, something that naturally declines with age. For female footballers, this window of opportunity can be even narrower due to limited access to career pathways, recognition and financial support for their chosen sport. Making wise financial decisions at the peak of a career is key - this is where effective financial planning comes into play."

In recent months, Evelyn Partners has partnered with a number of elite female sports teams this year, including a tie-up with Manchester City Women's Football Club. The partnership, announced earlier this month, not only strives to help MCWFC continue to achieve on the field, but also ensure its players hit their financial goals off the pitch. This includes a player care programme that supports footballers as their careers and financial journeys develop and equips them with the right money management strategies, career planning and personal development tools as they transition out of football.

The programme with MCWFC ties in with some of Evelyn Partners' other new partnerships in 2025, including the Netball Super League and Saracens Rugby Club. Again, these partnerships strive to ensure players receive the financial guidance they need both during and after their playing careers.

Osper added: "We work with many current and former premiership footballer players and have worked with female athletes for a number of years, including offering support to Lionesses. Male footballers have long been synonymous with excess spending and a lack of a savings plan, and some have faced bankruptcy in retirement. Sadly, some sports stars put their trust in the wrong people. This is why we work hard to give male athletes, and our growing client base of female players, the right guidance to ensure they can not only enjoy their earnings during their time on the pitch, but also save and invest the right way to maximise that income long after they have exited elite sport and moved onto the next stage of their careers and eventually onto retirement.

As the woman's game continues to evolve, and salaries and sponsorship deals escalate, some female footballers are enjoying higher levels of income, but the earnings gap still exists. As earning potential improves for female players, we have seeing an increased desire for post-career planning and a need for support and expertise to support this."