This Sunday, Tottenham Hotspur will take on Manchester United at Wembley Stadium in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final. Sunday’s showdown is the culmination of an extraordinary competition that’s seen 460 clubs battle it out since the competition’s start in September 2023, keeping fans on the edge of their seats.
The first Women’s FA Cup took place in 1971 and since then, the competition has built a reputation for exciting knock-out football, giving amateur clubs an opportunity to prove themselves against the very best in the country. This year’s competition has lived up to that legacy and I’ve loved every minute of it. It was incredible to watch sixth-tier Darwen FC reach the Third Round after a nail-biting penalty shootout victory over Leeds United back in November, and that excitement carried through all the way to the Semis; Martha Thomas’ dramatic extra-time winner for Spurs sealed their place in the final.
The quality of football throughout the tournament has been exceptional but what excites me most about our partnership with The Football Association (The FA) is our mission to elevate the profile and prestige of the competition by empowering fans, players, and clubs - from amateur to elite - to unleash their creative potential and share their stories with the world. In doing so, we’ll inspire a new generation of girls and women to join the game and pursue their dreams, leaving what we hope is a lasting legacy for the game.
Ahead of Sunday’s historic final, I’m enormously proud of what we’ve delivered so far to turbocharge the women’s game and we’re not done yet! What we have planned will provide even greater support to the fans, players and clubs, helping spread the magic of the women’s game to millions more people.
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Growing the game
Over the last six months, brand new Adobe Women’s FA Cup TikTok and Instagram channels have launched and the results have been astounding. Take the semi-final for example: 12 million views of AWFAC action was seen across social channels - an increase of almost 2000 percent on last year!
This clip of Mary Earps' incredible save became the most viewed video ever on the AWFAC X channel (5.5M views), with the Man Utd v Chelsea highlights becoming the most viewed (2.5M views) video for the competition on AWFAC TikTok. The use of Adobe Creative Cloud apps – including Adobe Express - have also supported The FA in driving its digital content creation and engagement.
These results strike to the heart of our mission for this partnership. We're passionate about spotlighting clubs across all levels at every stage of the competition. By raising awareness of the entire competition, which begins in September each year, we'll excite existing fans and inspire new ones by illuminating paths previously unimagined for girls and women.
Beyond fan engagement, we’re supporting clubs at every level of the footballing pyramid. More than 80 clubs across the country are now using their complimentary Adobe Express Premium plan, which gives them access to premium templates, Adobe Stock content and brand kits so they can create social content that maintains a consistent look-and-feel. We’ll also be hosting workshops to support all clubs and players when it comes to digital content creation. This is a game-changer for clubs in the lower leagues, empowering them to promote their brands throughout the season and produce marketing content to increase merchandise sales and drive match-day revenue. To top this all off, social media scheduling features within Adobe Express means clubs can share content with their fanbase, all from one place.
Additionally, it was important for us to make the AWFAC accessible to more fans and so we launched a Final ticket giveaway on Instagram featuring FA Cup legend and former Lioness, Jill Scott. Partnering with the super-talented Kelvyn Qaugrine, we worked with Jill to bring to life what the Women’s FA Cup means to her using Adobe Express. Our ambition is to connect as many people as possible with this incredible competition and we're excited to welcome our competition winners to Wembley on Sunday.