The Toxic Cost of Success at Wimbledon & the UEFA Euros
Women’s sport is no longer emerging. It is accelerating.
According to the Women’s Sports Trust, Q1 2022 was the most watched quarter in UK women’s sport history, reaching 15.1 million viewers. As audiences grow, so does the fanbase. UEFA has projected that the women’s football fanbase could double to 328 million fans, alongside dramatic increases in commercial value and media rights.
But as visibility rises, so does exposure.
With larger audiences come louder comment sections. Alongside passionate supporters are trolls whose sexism, racism and threats reach athletes and staff directly. Online abuse does more than harm individuals. It affects mental health, undermines performance and influences who feels they belong in sport.
Elite athletes are already at heightened risk of anxiety, depression and eating disorders, according to large-scale research analysing 60 studies. When abuse compounds that pressure, the impact is felt beyond the individual. It affects teams, organisations, sponsors and the wider community around the game.
The growth of women’s sport is something to celebrate. Protecting the people powering that growth is essential to sustaining it.
This report was published in September 2022 by Areto, in partnership with Team Heroine. It covers online abuse and the rise of women’s sport (and what to do about it) includes case studies from:
Wimbledon 2022
UEFA Women’s Euro 2022
The report includes a definition of online abuse, a severity spectrum, and a 6-step action plan provided by Rebecca Sowden of Team Heroine.
