From Jill Scott being crowned I’m a Celebrity winner, to Leah Williamson gracing everything from crisp packets to soft drink cans, and back-to-back Lionesses claiming Sports Personality of the Year — it’s been a golden era for women’s football icons. So that’s it then – women’s football has made it mainstream, and the players are all household names, right? Well not quite; and Ella Toone is here to change that.
While UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 was a huge success for a multitude of reasons, one of the most prominent was the huge growth in recognition nationally of some of the games bigger personalities. It seemed that finally the Lionesses were known across the country as much as their male counterparts like Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka. Not only was this a welcome sight, it had a tangible impact on the players’ lives: brands began actively seeking them out, and research revealed that fans of women’s sports were especially loyal to the brands endorsed by their favourite athletes. Having grown up playing a sport that was scarcely even part-time, these women were finally beginning to achieve financial security for their futures.
At the same time however, the majority of Women’s Super League players and almost all Women’s Championship players were still living the reality they had been brought up with. A barely liveable salary and no brand deals. In fact it was recently revealed that 50% of all WSL players don’t have a sponsorship deal. This means on a basic level that they must buy their own equipment to play in, such as boots and bras. More impactful though is the lack of income outside their basic salary. According to the BBC, the median WSL salary is around £47,000 a year, while the Telegraph reported some being as low as £20,000. While that may seem like a reasonable annual income compared to the general public, it’s important to remember that most players retire in their early to mid-30s — decades earlier than the average worker, who typically continues into their 60s. For those without the profile to transition into roles like punditry or brand partnerships, retiring from football is rarely a financially comfortable decision.
While the explosion of interest in those top players is a huge success for women’s football as a whole and should be celebrated, it feels like the positive effects weren’t felt by those players who needed it most, and in the midst of all this progress, a crucial opportunity to level the playing field was missed. This is exactly what Amicizia Studios was created to address. Ella Toone and her agent, James Marshall, are prime examples of those who directly benefited from the surge in sponsorship. With Toone becoming a household name nationwide – landing multiple brand deals and co-hosting the hugely popular BBC podcast ‘The Tooney and Russo Show’ – they’ve shown a clear understanding of how to harness the passion of women’s football fans. By highlighting the unique appeal of the players, they’ve successfully persuaded brands to invest in the women’s game.
With this ‘creative agency’, the pair are seeking to share their knowledge with players and,
“build them into household names, showcasing their personalities, securing the recognition they deserve, and ensuring they receive proper fees.”
They will offer a number of services including content development, consultancy and the chance to connect players directly with brands.
By setting this agency up, Ella Toone is joining a long line of players past and present who have taken direct responsibility to improve the game further for future generations and make the world of women’s football better for their peers. This is a message echoed by many of the Lionesses; that their personal experiences growing up playing football motivates them to make it better for the ones after them – they don’t want others to have to go through those same hardships. The continuing commitment of players to this mantra is part of what makes women’s football so special. It’s not just playing a sport and providing entertainment; but actively working to improve the game and society for all involved. It creates the sense that by supporting the game in any capacity, you’re contributing to real, positive change. After a difficult month of headlines for the women’s game, this was exactly the kind of news needed heading into the Euros — a timely reminder to approach the tournament with excitement, and with confidence that the broader landscape of women’s football continues to move in the right direction.
From scoring in Euro finals and World Cup semi-finals, to speaking about grief and giving her YouTube subscribers a glimpse of what her life looks like, Ella Toone has long been a fan favourite. How you choose to engage with this fandom is a personal decision — and for Toone, her priority has been using her platform to help others build what she’s already achieved. In many ways, she’s already a modern icon in women’s football, and this move only strengthens her legacy.
