Sunday’s England v Spain showdown in the Women’s Euro 2025 final is expected to be the most-watched women’s football match in UK history, while providing a more than £800m boost to supermarkets, pubs and retailers. The tournament has already generated an estimated £801m in consumer spending, according to research by GlobalData for VoucherCodes, £221m more than was spent during the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
With a family-friendly 5pm kick-off and coverage on both ITV and the BBC, television executives predict the peak audience could eclipse the 14.8 million who watched England lose to Spain in the 2023 World Cup final, if the match is close. The Lionesses’ progress, including a semi-final win over Italy that gave ITV its biggest audience of the year, has driven a surge in popularity.
On the day of the final, consumers are expected to spend almost £184m in pubs, retail outlets and on merchandise. Supermarkets are likely to be the biggest beneficiaries, with almost £100m set to be spent on food and drink this weekend. Tesco anticipates a 15% jump in Euros-related spending and has estimated that more than 450,000 bottles of champagne and sparkling wine will be sold, while the Co-op expects a 30% increase in sales of ready-to-drink cocktail cans. Asda forecasts sales of 6m pints, 300,000 pizzas and 1.3m bags of crisps.
However, Spanish lager brands such as San Miguel, Cruzcampo and Estrella Damm are expected to dominate beer choice. David Albon, a beer buyer at Tesco, noted the irony: “While England football fans will be cheering on the Lionesses, the beer of choice is likely to be Spanish.” Meanwhile, Greene King’s head of sport, Michelle West, said the pub chain had introduced measures such as chant books and a dedicated pale ale to enhance the atmosphere for women’s sport.
The tournament has also attracted a broader audience, with women and girls expected to account for 53% of viewers, and nearly 5 million under-18s tuning in. The presence of 18-year-old Michelle Agyemang, the squad’s youngest player, has added to the appeal. Viewers are expected to consume 18m cups of tea, 7.9m coffees and 15.4m glasses of juice or smoothies, alongside an estimated 13m pints during the final itself.
