With more than 17.4 million tuning in to watch the Lionesses being crowned the champions of Europe for the first time at the weekend, this year's tournament has sparked an unprecedented amount of coverage and support for women's football.

This England squad has created a legacy that will inspire a new generation of girls, including Tess, the young girl whose celebrations following the semi-final win over Sweden went viral. But hopefully England's first piece of silverware since 1966 will also wake brands up to a huge potential advertising opportunity.

But why did football have to come home before the nation acknowledged the success of empowered women in sport?

Setting The Benchmark

Based on my experiences, I understand why more than 80% of young girls currently don't believe they belong in sport. As a young girl, I lived and breathed football. I wasn't phased by being the only girl in the team, and I was fortunate enough to be in an environment where my passion was nurtured. However, when I hit puberty, I went from being the captain of an all-boy team (bar myself) to being told by the league that I was no longer welcome. At the time, I naively thought I was the problem, and that growing into a woman meant no more fun.

Now, I recognise a lack of media coverage of women's sport contributed significantly towards the toxic mentality that girls don't belong in football. In 1971, the FA lifted the ban on women's football. However, poor visibility of these sporting role models led to widespread disillusionment.

This was broken during the Euros, as the nation felt an overwhelming sense of inspiration from the team.

Now is a real turning point for brands and advertisers to consider harnessing their influence to empower a new generation of diverse, young athletes. It was disappointing that many brands failed to even turn up at EURO 2022, so let's reflect on how brands can bring their A-game going forward.

Celebrate Success

In a previous blog post, we looked at how some brands during Euro 2022 showed the red card on the stigma inflicting women in sport. One of our top picks was Pepsi's "Icons Unlocked" campaign.

The ad features social media influencer Elz the Witch questioning three members of the current England team on a range of topics, from a lack of peer support growing up to needing more diverse representation in the women's game.

It's a great piece of content, but the brand took the campaign one step further by partnering with Good-Loop to provide active support.

Using our Watch to Donate ad format, every time someone watched the campaign it unlocked a free donation for Women in Football, a charity working to empower women in sport through celebrating their successes and challenging discrimination in the football industry.

What can brands do now?

The tournament may be over - but brands should be reflecting on how they can authentically get involved going forward.

UEFA has reported a staggering 152.4 million interactions across social media in the initial stages alone, while the final is the most watched moment of the year in the UK so far, surpassing the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and Wimbledon. We're in a new era of purposeful and commercial opportunity, and it's time to ask what brands can do to empower women in sport.

Here are some of our suggestions:

1. Sponsor Female Athletes - Give the England squad the recognition they deserve. Now is the time to support these players and watch their new-found followers support you.
2. Support Onscreen and Offscreen - If you're going to share a message of female empowerment, don't just dip your toes. By partnering with Good-Loop, you can actively support young people trying to make it in sport by aligning with a range of charities, including Football Beyond Borders, Goals4Girls, Up Sport and Behind the Kick.
3. Call Time Out - Reflect on the DE&I within your own campaigns, products and internal processes. It's all well and good promoting gender equality, but if you have a substantial gender pay gap, you're going to get a backlash. Make sure to practise what you preach - because the world is watching.
4. Play The Game - This tournament has inspired people who don't usually watch football regularly to enjoy the beautiful game. So why not start a company football team or join Starling's new female Fantasy Football league? The fun doesn't have to end just because the tournament has.

While there is still a way to go for true equality in the world of sport, Euro 2022 has most certainly got people talking. It has proved brands should take their game more seriously and uphold the legacy the Lionesses have created.

After a very long wait, football has finally come home. Now, let's do everything in our power to inspire new generations to make sure it stays that way.