Starling scores a marketing win with Women's Euro England triumph

A record 17.6m people tuned in to watch the Lionesses beat Germany in the Starling-sponsored UEFA Women’s Euro final.

After a 56 year wait, football came home this weekend thanks to a historic win from the England women’s team, and Starling Bank had front row seats.

As the official national banking partner of the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022, Starling scored its first sports sponsorship in style.

It was the most-watched women’s football game on UK television of all time, with a record peak of 17.6 million people nationwide tuning in, and another 87,000 in the stadium – making it the highest attended men’s or women’s European Championship ever.

England’s win marked a monumental win for women and women’s sport, and it worked out pretty well for the UK’s first female-founded bank as well, where gender equality has always been at the forefront.

“Starling sponsored the UEFA Women’s EURO because it aligned with our mission of lifting women up and smashing glass ceilings,” Starling Bank director of brand and marketing Rachel Kerrone told AltFi.

“This year’s players have done that by showcasing some brilliant football, and we wanted to play our part here too by further boosting engagement with the tournament.”

Outside the stadium, the bank has hosted family-friendly activities at the FA’s fan parties, including table football games with female figurines.

Starling also sponsored individual players from the past, present and future of women’s football, including winners Jill Scott MBE and Lauren Hemp.

In another first for women’s football, Starling even developed the first Fantasy Football game for the Women’s Euro.

“It was the first ever sports sponsorship for Starling, which is the first ever bank in the UK to be founded by a woman,” Kerrone continued.

“The fact that it was the first international win for the Lionesses and the biggest women’s tournament to date suggests that things are changing for women in sports, banking and technology - the cracks in the glass ceiling are beginning to show.”

With leadership and overall teams that are 40 per cent and 43 per cent women respectively, Starling is leading the way in breaking that ceiling in the banking world, so it is only fitting for it to be sharing the hammer with women in sports.

The bank launched its #MakeMoneyEqual campaign in 2018 with the aim of removing negative gender stereotypes from conversations around money and personal finances, and continues to show its commitment to driving for gender equality.

In an extension of its sponsorship, it is also donating £28,000 to Sports Aid and grassroots teams across the UK to develop the pipeline of female footballing talent.

Back in 2020 Starling had struck a deal to be the official bank of Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics. However, Covid hit and the games were subsequently delayed by a year, which resulted in Starling's sponsorship falling through.