The lives of England’s World Cup-winning team and future generations of female cricketers "will be transformed by the victory," leading agents and sport marketing experts said, according to Martha Kelner of the London GUARDIAN. Anya Shrubsole said that it felt like a "watershed moment" for the sport played out before a capacity crowd at Lord's. The £512,000 ($668,000) prize money "has been split equally among the 15-strong squad," meaning £34,000 ($44,300) a player. But "the exposure gained" from a tournament which benefited from two "gripping" semifinals as well as a "thrilling finale could lead to greater rewards" in the form of sponsorship and advertising deals. Mongoose Sports Agency Dir Rupert Pratt said, "This win is not going to change women's sport overnight but what it will do is contribute considerably towards the momentum that has already been created. ... On-pitch performance always translates to off-pitch performance and with the cricket and Johanna Konta getting to the semifinals at Wimbledon, it has led to a huge groundswell of interest and engagement in women's sport." EPT Sports Management Managing Dir Allen Blackford has been working with former England batsman Lydia Greenway "and the pair have already spoken to five of the squad about representing them in the future." Blackford: "The men's side of the game reaps all the benefits from the money that comes into the ECB [England & Wales Cricket Board]. It's a very lopsided marketplace. Some of the girls in that England team are still buying their own kit." ECB Women's Cricket Dir Clare Connor said that the organization recognizes the need to capitalize "on the huge buzz the tournament has created to change the face of the sport domestically" (GUARDIAN, 7/24).
THE NEXT STEP: In London, Tim Crow wrote winning the World Cup will be a "massive boost" to help England players attract "large sponsorship deals," but it is "important to remember that there is a long way to go and even when you get there it is a hugely competitive market." Many of those who won Gold Medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics did not "end up being household names" and did not "attract large deals." It will be "interesting to see what the ECB does next -- it is in its interests to make the players as visible as possible." The ECB also has around 15 major sponsors that will "now be able to make more" off the women players (LONDON TIMES, 7/25).
Crow is the CEO of marketing agency Synergy.
