Boom in women's sporting events across London hailed

Flagship women’s sporting events in the capital last year attracted 1.4 million in-person fans and contributed £54.7m to the city’s economy, reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter

Maggie Alphonsi, former England Women's rugby player
(credit Kumail Jaffer-LDRS) — Maggie Alphonsi, former England Women’s rugby player (credit Kumail Jaffer/LDRS)

City Hall must ensure the benefits of the women’s sporting boom in the capital trickles down to ordinary Londoners in every borough, Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan has been told.

New analysis from City Hall has revealed that flagship women’s sporting events held in London last year alone attracted 1.4 million in-person fans and contributed £54.7m to the city’s economy.

This was primarily driven by the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final at Twickenham last September, which attracted 81,885 spectators as England played out a historic victory over Canada. Other events which contributed included the return of women’s tennis to Queen’s for the first time in over 50 years, as well as major netball, football, basketball and athletics showpieces.

The report, launched on Tuesday (9th) at London Stadium, revealed that a specialist tag rugby programme launched ahead of the 2025 Rugby World Cup engaged 1,700 women and girls across the city.

Historically, the activity level among girls has been significantly lower than boys in London. A 2022 report from Sport England found that while 49% of boys were considered active, the figure for girls was just 41%.

Former England Women’s rugby star Maggie Alphonsi, who endorsed the report, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that although both the prominence and accessibility of women’s sport has significantly improved in London, there is still some way to go before all women and girls benefit.

She said: “It’s changed significantly – women’s sport wasn’t visible at all, and the accessibility wasn’t there. Fast forward to 2026, visibility is everywhere. You can’t turn a corner about seeing or hearing about fantastic female athletes, the sporting achievements that they’ve made.

“Young girls see these amazing athletes, the stadiums they’re playing in, the coverage they’re getting – and it does initiate inspiration. The trickle effect becomes quite significant to the point where it stops being trickle and starts being more of a flood.

“That’s what we’re seeing now – many more girls are seeing these major sporting events and are asking themselves what sport they want to play, as opposed to being limited to whatever is in their area. That’s the impact.

“We need to keep going, keep pushing the envelope – it’s great that the major sports get that increase in participation but actually how do we also make sure the small sports start to benefit from that?

“Something that I’m very passionate about is how we change leadership and how do you start to see more women in coaching roles, officiating roles, leadership roles – that’s where the next change comes because I hope those women and young girls who are playing the sport stay in the sport after retiring and become leaders of the future. That’s the next step I hope to see going forward.”

The report also revealed that 89% of Londoners surveyed are keen for the city to keep hosting more major women’s sporting events. For Nick Kellner from Think Beyond, which co-authored the report, it is essential for City Hall to capitalise on the momentum built by elite showpiece events.

He said: “It’s great to see this city leading that charge [on women’s sport] at the moment. Going forward, we need to ensure that we build on the infrastructure that’s there, build on the cadence is really important – inspiration of big events is really exciting and important but what backs it up certainly locally is what matters.

“Providing enough pathways to girls taking part is a really important element overall and knocking down some of that inequality that might not just be to do with gender, might be around disability or even people that are time-poor that can’t transport their kids around or have the time to participate. It’s really important that as a major city hosting these big events that we ensure that those are the next steps really as to building that infrastructure around it.

“Depth is really important if you’re transforming lives and really ensuring that people are benefiting from the event. If it is 1,700 new coaches in the system, that’s real depth.

“That’s economic empowerment, that employment, that’s also the impact of those, they’re big multipliers in the community. You can go deep or you can go wide – the depth and delivering to the community is probably more essential.”

The capital is set to continue its strong record with hosting women’s sporting events, with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, the Tour de France Femmes and the EuroHockey championships all taking place in London in the coming months.

Khan added: “London is the undisputed global capital for women’s sport and this new report shows the significant boost it provides for our economy.

“The events outlined in this report shine a global spotlight on the capital and inspire young Londoners – particularly young girls – to get involved in grassroots sport, as we continue to work together to build a better, more prosperous London for everyone.”

Deputy mayor Mete Coban told the LDRS: “Seeing major sporting events on your doorstep is really important – when the Olympics came to my area, it inspired communities.

“City Hall can make sure we are investing in grassroots facilities that cement the legacy.”

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