Inside TikTok influence on women's football as every aspect of game changes
When it comes to England players, few are more popular than Mary Earps.
She is regularly unable to escape matches without dozens and dozens of signings and selfies. And despite what Nike might have previously thought, plenty of people want to buy her England shirt.
Between the sticks, Earps is at the top of her game. She was the best goalkeeper at the World Cup finals, was a leading contender for the Ballon d'Or earlier this week before finishing fifth and in the eyes of most is the best shot-stopper on the planet right now.
But Earps' skyrocketing popularity isn't fuelled solely by her performances on the pitch. She is the leading Lioness on TikTok with over a million followers on the video-sharing platform.
Whether she is posting about her World Cup experience Down Under or dancing with her mates. Fans feel connected with the England star. The TikTok queen has taken her throne.
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But the Lionesses No.1 is just one example of the growing synergy between the sport and the platform. Whether it is broadcasting live games or offering bespoke behind-the-scenes content, TikTok is eyeing up the gigantic potential across sports, with women's football leading the way.
With club fanbases expanding at a rapid rate, with a sizeable portion from a younger demographic, there are plenty of opportunities. Rollo Goldstaub is the head of Sport and Gaming at TikTok in the UK as well as Ireland and the Nordic countries and tells Mirror Football why he wants to increase the spotlight on women's football.
"The women's game is massively established already now," Goldstaub says. "I think there was that statistic that will be a billion-dollar industry within the next decade. We see it as incredibly successful already on TikTok. Our World Cup hashtag is sitting at 4.4billion views.
"So yes there is a bigger opportunity for growth. But it is also about working with a brilliant sport. It’s about finding joyful content. Within my team, we’re trying to work with as many rights holders, creators, players, athletes, and broadcasters as possible. So the sports experience on TikTok is the best it possibly can be.
"Sports is a top-five category on TikTok, so it’s definitely big. My main responsibility is to work with our partners in the best way. So for the Women's World Cup, we want to do the best possible work with for example the BBC, but also Mary Earps or the England channel, to give them the best partnership we can. By doing that we ensure we have content the fans really want to see."
In just five years since its European launch, the platform has changed so much of our media culture, so it isn't surprising the way fans consume sports is also feeling the impact. With the women's football audience developing and expanding at such a fast rate, the social media giant is right at the heart of connecting new fans with the sport.
Rollo Goldstaub, Head of Sport and Gaming UKI & Nordics at TikTokIn years to come, Burnley Women might be looked at as pioneers by their peers. The team are currently flying high in the third tier of the women's pyramid, top of the league, unbeaten and in their third season of a strategic partnership with TikTok.
It was back in 2021, that the Clarets became the first club to stream live home matches on the platform, with a clear aim to capitalise on new fans engaging with women's football. At the time of the announcement, many perhaps doubted where the value was for TikTok.
Yet in April, Burnley broke the one million views barrier. The club's Head of Commercial Marcus Mellor explains that ideal timing allowed them to get ahead of the curve, particularly with interest in the game only expanding after Euro 2022 and the World Cup earlier this year.
"We had a new ownership (at the time of the deal) so I think we looked ambitiously, at how we drive a bit of partnership for the club," Mellor explains "And at the time TikTok was somewhat new. Obviously, it's extremely developed now, it has over a billion users globally.
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"But they were looking in particular at sport as a vehicle for their growth. I think as is the nature of these things the opportune timing came about and we struck a deal with them which helped us both. To compare it one way you've got a billion users on TikTok, Sky Sports have around 6million UK subscribers, so the pool of eyeballs is way, way larger. And we've seen continual growth in our live streams throughout the year.
"We're developing a 'new fan' in some ways. People don't always have access to pay for television subscriptions. But the majority of people have a smartphone and the majority have TikTok downloaded on that phone. So the barriers to entry of our games is lower. It gives us real accessibility."
The project isn't solely about getting a few more fans in through the turnstiles. The extra spotlight has transformed the club on so many different levels. This has led to Burnley playing games at Turf Moor and enjoying better training facilities with a brand-new state-of-the-art gym built specifically for the Women's team.
There is also the influence the partnership has had on players. Mellor says the women's team don't partake in formal media training, so TikTok delivered a session on how best to engage and grow their audience. The team has felt "empowered" as a result.
Mellor is proud of the partnership and hopes the audience will continue to grow as the team works toward the long-term goal of reaching the WSL. He believes the quality of the streams and content produced are crucial to ensuring new fans keep coming back for me.
"The production quality that we put behind it as a club has also helped massively," he adds. "So there is investment on both sides. Our initial deal finish this summer, but we both wanted to keep it going which I guess is the best evidence it is working for us both."
Not only has the million views target been smashed, but the streams for this season have continued to deliver big audiences. It already looks like a shrewd move by both parties to keep the partnership going.
“When it comes to something like Burnley," adds Goldstaub. They are in the third tier of women’s football. Clearly, they aren’t in the same position as a Man United or a Chelsea in the WSL or Premier League with that level of coverage. The broadcast rights at that level weren't tied up, so we had the room to do something exciting.
TikTok has £1billion monthly active users"So we gave them a platform to allow them to grow globally. On their first game of this season, they had 60,000 live viewers. It is amazing to think about the reach they now have, it's incredible and we’ve renewed that partnership for next year.
"The results are something to be proud of. It helps that Burnley are a forward-thinking club, but we open to working with anyone that wants to do something different and is forward-thinking."
It all points towards a new age for football. It is no longer simply a case of settling down to watch the match or maybe catching the late highlights if you've had a night out. At the Women's World Cup this summer, it wasn't just quickfire match action clips that people wanted. For many, it was about those behind-the-scenes glimpses of players showcasing their personality or an insight into their world at a global tournament.
For example, one of the most memorable clips from FIFA featured the South African team singing and dancing in their dressing room prior to their win over Italy. The ability to take fans inside the game helps create the feeling that women's football is still accessible, despite the fact the top players in the world are now megastars.
TikTok also sponsors the Women's Six Nations rugby tournament"Some of our most successful videos were split screen highlights," explains Goldstaub. "Where you'll have the highlight of a goal but then the reaction of the family or the manager, side-by-side in real-time, it is very TikTok native as it showed the fun and joyful side.
"The impact of these tournaments is huge. For example, I think there were over 90,000 new followers to the England channel, that's more than a full Wembley.
"Mary Earps now has a million followers, she is just brilliant. And it's all about personality. Of course, she is the best goalkeeper in the world, but she can show off her personality. She took the fans with her to that tournament, but she's totally unique, one of a kind really."
TikTok's impact on the game can be felt in all corners. And it's not just football, the company is also now the title sponsor of the Women's Six Nations rugby union tournament. Goldstaub also mentions exploring content ideas around village cricket. So is there a chance they could one day broadcast an elite women's football competition live?
With the WSL broadcast rights expiring at the end of this season and traditional television slots a constant battleground for the league, maybe TikTok could provide a solution. But Goldstaub instead explains they are here to support the traditional broadcasters, rather than challenge them.
"All of our focus when it comes to broadcasters is adding value to them. Being their partner. We don't put our sports highlights on live streams solely on a 'TikTok channel' it is all on the BBC's channel or ITV's channel. So we want to support them in growing their audience and reaching demographics they don't always reach in their traditional means.
"We're just about the authentic, joyful content. And I think these broadcasters are leaning into TikTok to show off their vibrant side. And because we've got such diverse, positive fun content coming out, it makes working here a lot of fun as well.
"We're working really closely with the WSL, Sky and the BBC this season. So that once again we have the best possible women's football content on the platform."
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