This innovative group aims to create a unique and powerful opportunity for women’s sports clubs to collectively work together in order to grow and sustain the development of women’s sport in the UK.
Announced to coincide with International Women's Day, WBBL clubs Essex Rebels and BA London Lions have joined West Ham United women’s team, London Pulse Netball Club and Sunrisers women’s cricket (along with partners Essex Cricket and Middlesex Cricket) to form the partnership following in-depth analysis of the challenges facing women in sport.
The goal is to support sportswomen in reaching their full potential, as well as continuing to progress elite women’s sport to the next level, in a sustainable fashion.
The five clubs which make up the Women’s Elite Sport Partnership will focus on supporting one another in three main areas; engagement, performance and commercial activity. They will efficiently develop programmes that grow women’s participation in sport, capture new audiences through exciting activations and work together in growing the fan base of the combined professional teams.
In terms of performance, the group’s focus will be around enhancing the player pathway experience, capturing key learnings that encourage each athlete to reach their full potential and growing the support staff structure at all levels, in order to improve the experience of female athletes.
The collaboration will also help to develop efficiencies around key ticketing information and enhancing match day experiences for women’s sports fans. There will also be a specific intention to work together and grow the commercial engagement and revenue within women’s sport, to support the clubs’ shared vision of sustainability.
“Basketball is the second most popular participation team sport among young people in the country, and the Essex Rebels offer a complete pathway from school engagement, junior club and academy, university scholarship programme, through to senior professional teams. We have always committed to parity of opportunity and investment for our women’s programme. The Women’s Elite Sport Partnership is a very exciting opportunity to amplify our commitment to women’s basketball, with the aim of increasing the strength of our overall programme and the competitiveness of our team.”
“The potential of Women’s sport is huge and we see this every day; on and off the court. We understand that reaching this potential cannot be done alone but through a collective effort. Through our involvement in the Women’s Elite Sports Partnership, we know that together we can: increase the visibility, change the stereotypes, inspire the next generation and grow the commercial impact across the whole industry and this is something the London Lions believe in wholeheartedly and are excited to be a part of.”
