England Win Women’s Euro 2022
England have made history, beating Germany to win their first major women’s tournament. The Lionesses secured a 2-1 victory after extra time against their historic rivals to win the Euro 2022 final. As the country celebrates, the win marks a new chapter for women’s sports, which is experiencing a dramatic rise in popularity.
A record crowd of 87,192 fans watched the electrifying final at Wembley Stadium.
©Charles A. Pickup/Pexels
Victory for Lionesses
On Sunday July 31st, the Lionesses beat Germany to win the Women’s Euro 2022 tournament. The nail-biting final went to extra time, as neither team was ready to admit defeat. Just as it seemed possible that the match was headed for a penalty shootout, substitute Chloe Kelly nudged a loose ball into the goal with ten minutes remaining.
After waiting for confirmation of the goal, Kelly burst into celebration, taking off her shirt and waving it around as her teammates lifted her up. The Lionesses fended off the competition for the final minutes, cementing a historic victory for Sarina Wiegman’s side.
At the end of the match, Wembley was host to scenes of jubilation and emotion. The biggest crowd in the history of a men’s or women’s Euros, 87,192 people, watched on as England’s players danced and lifted the trophy, before crashing a news conference in song. Forward Beth Mead was given the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer, with six goals and five assists.
It was a tournament brimming with historic moments, as Wiegman became the first manager to win back-to-back Euros with two different nations. England managed what no other nation has been able to; beat Germany in a European Women’s Championship final.
The match inevitably drew comparison to another historic match that took place 56 years ago, when Bobby Moore led England’s men to beat West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final. That was the last time that a men’s or women’s England senior team won a major trophy.
With such high stakes at play, it is no surprise that viewers were glued to their TV screens on Sunday night. BBC One recorded a peak television audience of 17.4 million, as the final became the most watched women’s football game on UK television. That figure broke the previous record set when 11.7 million viewers tuned in to watch England’s unsuccessful World Cup semi-final against the US in 2019.
Record Number of Bets Placed
Betting and gaming operator Entain has revealed that a record number of bets were placed on this year’s Women’s Euros. In a milestone moment for the fastest growing female sport in the world, 1.5 million online bets have been placed on the tournament. Ahead of Sunday’s final between England and Germany, Entain forecast the Lionesses as its favorites to take the trophy home.
In the UK betting market, Ladbrokes and Coral saw the number of bets placed on the tournament increase fivefold, compared to the Women’s Euros 2017. During the same timeframe, the number of bets placed by women increased sixfold. At the time of writing, Entain stated that 72% of bets placed with Ladbrokes Digital UK counted on England winning the match within ninety minutes.
Despite criticism over UEFA’s underwhelming choice of venues for the tournament, the team’s spirits were not dampened. The Lionesses have left viewers stunned throughout the championship, surpassing all expectations to reach the final. The England team made it through the group stages easily, scoring more goals than any other team has during this stage of the Women’s Euros.
Since beating Norway 8-0 and Northern Ireland 5-0 during the group stages, the Lionesses have attracted attention for their stamina and performance. England sailed through to the knockout stage, where they beat Spain 2-1 and Sweden 4-0 to reach the final at Wembley Stadium.
In reaching the final, the women’s team equaled their previous best performance. In 2009, the Lionesses came second against Finland. Ahead of the game, hopes were high that the women’s team would secure a victory after the men’s team failed to do so in the Euro 2020 tournament.
Boost for Women’s Sport
As of July 28th, 1.5 million online bets were placed across all of Entain’s brands. As one of the world’s biggest gambling operators, Entain is responsible for some of the UK’s most famous betting sites, including Ladbrokes, Coral, bwin and Sportingbet. Of these bets, 14% were made by women.
UK fans have been the most active bettors this season, placing 46% of all online bets. That figure is followed by Germany with 22% and Brazil with 16% of bets placed. British fans have also proved to be amongst the most patriotic, as almost 60% of UK bets hoped for an England win. Fans in Germany were just as loyal to their team, placing a similar percentage of bets on a German win.
Women’s football has been referred to as the fastest growing female sport in the world. It is expected that Women’s Euro 2022 will have reached a live audience of more than 250 million people across 195 territories worldwide. In comparison, the 2017 tournament in the Netherlands attracted a global audience of 178 million.
Interest in women’s sport is a growing trend across the board. Sports betting operators have witnessed the number of online bets placed on the 2021-22 Women’s UEFA Champions League rise 61% higher than the 2019-20 tournament. A similar story has unfolded at the Women’s FA Cup, which saw 130% more online bets on its 2021-22 tournament than two years previously.
Managing Director of UK and Ireland Digital at Entain, Julie Doleman, spoke about the positive trend. According to Doleman, Entain is more than ready to meet the needs of fans looking to engage with women’s sport. The operator is excited to see what lies ahead for the sport, as preparations are made for the FIFA Women’s World Cup next year. Doleman added:
“Women’s football has seen a phenomenal rise in popularity in recent years, generating an incredible buzz for the sport. This has also been reflected in betting activity on women’s football matches, which has grown at similarly seismic rates – particularly amongst female customers.”
