2025: A Watershed Year for Women's Sport in England
In 2025, English women's sport marked a historic milestone as the Red Roses rugby team won the Rugby World Cup and the Lionesses retained the UEFA Women's Euro title, making it the first time English teams won major trophies in the same year. Arsenal also triumphed by winning the Women’s Champions League, while Charley Hull reached a career-high fifth place in the golf rankings, the highest ranking for an English woman since 2006.
The Rugby World Cup final, held at Twickenham, attracted an attendance of 81,885 and a cumulative tournament total of 441,356 fans. The BBC reported a peak television audience of 5.8 million for the final, the highest ever for a women’s rugby match and for any Rugby World Cup final, men’s or women’s. England’s women’s rugby team extended their winning streak to 33 matches and saw strong fan engagement, with over 40,000 tickets sold for their Six Nations opener against Ireland in April.
Premiership Women’s Rugby attendance surged by 70.5% in the opening six rounds compared to the previous season. Grassroots participation mirrored this growth, increasing from about 25,000 to 40,000 female players in England over five years. The Lionesses’ Euro victory ignited significant public interest, such as the homecoming event attended by approximately 65,000 people outside Buckingham Palace, alongside high match attendances at Wembley and Southampton, despite there being no home tournament for the 2025 league season.
In the Women’s Super League, Arsenal saw an average league attendance rise to roughly 36,214 from 28,776 the previous season, attributing this growth to sustained investment in their women’s team rather than any single trophy. After these successes, there was a 196% surge in searches for female football playing opportunities, a 5% increase in overall participation, and rises in female coaches and referees by 12% and 29%, respectively.
Looking forward, England is scheduled to host the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and the European Athletics Championships in 2026, signaling continued momentum and development in women's sport across the country.
