An unpublished study shows that only two Brazilian clubs have different sponsors for the women’s and men’s teams.

The study shows, for example, that this year the only clubs to have different sponsorships for the women’s and men’s teams were Ferroviária and Cruzeiro — the others receive a conglomeration or do not differentiate their management. The study was carried out by OutField, a business consultancy for the Brazilian sports scene, and Dibradoras, a media outlet covering women’s football in Brazil, with support from Guaraná Antarctica.

— We consume a lot of women’s football and we always discuss it. We saw that we had the analysis tools and we organized ourselves internally to speak to this sector. This report is a starting point, a nudge to start discussions — said Laura Guarnier, senior strategy consultant at OutField, at an event to publicize the study.

According to the study, while men’s teams have been required since the early 2000s to disclose documents such as financial statements, only three of the 20 women’s clubs analyzed have this disclosure. These are Ferroviária, Palmeiras and Santos. To develop the research, the company not only collected market data, but also surveyed club directors.

— We are in a very data-poor environment, not only in terms of dissemination, but also in terms of collection. There are different realities, with clubs structured in different ways, different management… Few clubs implement a business unit vision for women’s football — added Aline Omote, also a senior consultant at OutField.

The list of women’s clubs analyzed includes those that competed in the A1 series of the 2025 Brazilian Championship — Corinthians, Palmeiras, Ferroviária, Cruzeiro, Bahia, Red Bull Bragantino, Internacional, Grêmio, Fluminense, Sport Recife, América Mineiro, Juventude, Flamengo, São Paulo, Associação Esportiva 3B and Brasília — in addition to Santos, Atlético MG, Avaí and Botafogo.

This document is the first in a series, as it is planned to carry out periodic updates of the study starting this year, which will result in continuous monitoring of Brazilian women’s football.

In 2025, only two clubs received different sponsorships for the women’s and men’s teams, Ferroviária and Cruzeiro. The other 18 analyzed received a conglomeration of the same sponsors, meaning that revenue does not translate into proportional transfers or compensation for women’s football.

In many cases, the inclusion of this modality serves to justify value within the overall contract, without specific investment direction for the team. On the other hand, some clubs adopt a more autonomous model, negotiating agreements for the women’s team. According to the investigation, Palmeiras signed a main sponsorship contract worth 22 million reais in 2024, the largest of the year.

The report does not indicate the percentage of sponsorship participation in the final turnover of each team, but it does indicate which sectors of the market invest the most. At the top, with ten companies each, are sponsorships from the pharmaceutical industry and wellness and hygiene products, lottery betting houses and financial services. The smallest numbers come from the fuels and mobility sectors, with one company each.

— It is necessary to decentralize the resource, to understand how each sponsor will tell its story, to have more clubs with their own sponsorship or even with special attention to experience — says Laura Guarnier.

Guaraná Antartica’s support for women’s football emerged in 2019, with the signing of an eight-year contract with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). Since then, they have carried out both digital campaigns, such as the launch of “#Botaelasnojogo”, to increase the female presence in games, and support for grassroots teams, such as the Meninas em Campo project.

— We watch football and he doesn’t want any distinction between the sexes. If we support the masculine, we should support the feminine. We also believe that it is a collective journey and that is why we want to be close to several pillars and people who are doing something for women’s football. The more data we have across the board, the more we can show where we are doing well and where we need more support, the more intentional and structured guidance we will have — said Daniela Cachich, president of the Beyond Co business unit at Ambev.

Team structure and audience

The Women’s Football Report 2025 shows that there are few female departments in higher positions. There are three hierarchical levels of leadership in the clubs analyzed: coordination, management and direction. Teams like Santos, Red Bull Bragantino and Cruzeiro, for example, report directly to the club president, as they do not hold a management position.

— There is a layer of complexity (in this structure) that slows down decision making. In autonomy of decisions, for example, when it is necessary to report to other administrators, the process becomes even slower and bureaucratic. Without autonomy, processes become rigid. As for the team, when we analyze the number of people in women’s clubs (except athletes), there are employees who are divided between men and women, both professional and local — mentions Ana Carolina Renaux, senior consultant at OutField.

According to the study, only Ferroviária and Corinthians have more than 50 people in their teams, excluding athletes. Meanwhile, five teams (Palmeiras, Bragantino, Santos, Internacional and Fluminense) have between 25 and 50 employees in the department; seven other clubs have between 10 and 25 people; Avaí is the only one to have fewer than ten people in her department.

The research therefore understands that women’s teams must be seen as products by clubs. Example of Mirassol, who needs to create a women’s team to continue their first ranking for the Libertadores 2026.

Part of this vision concerns fan participation in matches, influenced by the location of the match and the time of broadcast. As OutField reports, 35% of Brasileirão A1 first-round matches took place outside the team’s host city, while 24% took place during the week and during office hours, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

— The limiting factor for the average fan is not the stadium’s maximum capacity, but its location. The Palmeiras men, for example, have more fans at matches at the Allianz than at the Arena Barueri. It’s a question of access. The fact that the game takes place during office hours also makes access and relationships with the team difficult, Ana Carolina said.