Olivia Smith becomes the world’s first £1m woman footballer

In a landmark deal for women’s football, Arsenal have signed 20-year-old Canadian international forward Olivia Smith from WSL rivals, Liverpool for £1m. The deal comes exactly a year after the striker signed for the Merseysiders for just £200,000.

This is the first £1m signing in the women’s game, beating the £900,000 paid by Chelsea for defender Naomi Girma at the beginning of 2025. The statement signing reflects Arsenal’s ambitions to knock Chelsea off their WSL perch. The west London club has utterly dominated the league in recent years, winning the title in eight out of the last ten seasons and six out of the last six. For their part, Arsenal won the first two WSL titles after the league was established in 2010 but have yet to recapture the top slot.

However, the Gunners captured the UEFA Women’s Champions League title back in May and have been strengthening their squad since then with the addition of England winger Chloe Kelly, Liverpool’s Taylor Hinds and German ‘keeper Anneke Borbe.

Smith's record signing reflects the rapid growth in the women’s game in the last few years. The national team’s victory in the 2022 Euros, followed by the Lionesses’ appearance in the World Cup final the following year has given renewed momentum to the domestic leagues. And with that has come the necessity to spend more in order to be competitive.

The good news is that WSL revenues have been on a strong upward trend. Analysis from Deloitte's Sports Business Group found that revenues in England’s top division grew from £48m in the 2022-23 season to £65m in 2023-24. A key driver was matchday revenue, which rose 73% on the back of a 31% increase in average league attendances.  Deloitte expect total WSL revenues to top £100m by the end of the 2025-26 campaign, boosted by interest in the Euros.

Smith’s signing is a clear indication of the seriousness of Arsenal's quest to break Chelsea’s recent stranglehold on the WSL. A more competitive campaign in the coming season would surely help to sustain the growth in attendances and in interest in the women’s game overall.