Fans of women’s soccer looking to tune in to one of the top competitions in the world will have to fork over some cash next year. The UEFA Women’s Champions League will no longer be free to watch – at least not entirely.

DAZN, the global rights holder for the tournament, have announced that most games will now only be accessible via their subscription service. That service starts at $19.99 a month in the US. Previously, all UWCL matches have been shown for free on the DAZN YouTube channel.

Nineteen games remain free on YouTube, including the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. So it’s not all bad news for fans wanting to watch without needing another subscription.

Growing the women’s game

Women’s soccer continues to grow and improve in Europe, and worldwide. That improvement has led to increased interest and visibility. Apparently 14 million more viewers have watched this season compared to last on YouTube.

And crowds continue to turn out for big games in Europe. This year’s Women’s Champions League saw Arsenal fall in the semifinals to Wolfsburg in front of a record crowd. A total of 60,063 fans packed the Emirates Stadium, the biggest crowd ever in England for a women’s club game. Barcelona drew over 91,000 fans in last year’s tournament, also against Wolfsburg, setting the overall women’s soccer attendance record.

Now the aim is to transform the broadcasting for the tournament into something that drives more tangible revenue into the sport. But after giving something away for free, it’s often hard to convert people into paying customers. It will be interesting to see if enough fans will be willing to pay a (relatively high) subscription fee to watch the competition.

This season’s competition is wrapping up very soon. Wolfsburg faces FC Barcelona in Champions League final on June 3rd in Eindhoven.

Photo: Imago