🎬 The Moment
Women’s soccer in the U.S. isn’t just growing - it’s exploding. With the launch of the Gainbridge Super League in 2024 and the NWSL hitting record attendances, the sport now offers year-round opportunities for fans and brands alike. Between now and 2031, the U.S. will host four major global soccer events - two World Cups, the Olympics and the Paralympics - putting women’s soccer firmly on centre stage. Globally, the women’s game is on track to grow its fanbase by 40% by 2031, cementing its position as one of the world’s top five sports.
The cultural timing is perfect. Audiences are demanding more visibility, more coverage, and more investment. And the data shows that brands who meet them there are rewarded with some of the most loyal, engaged and purchase-ready consumers in sport.
📊 The Numbers That Matter
Conversion Power: More than 1 in 4 women’s soccer fans have made a purchase because of a brand’s sponsorship - 58% more likely than other women’s sports fans.
Demand for Investment: 60% of fans say brands still aren’t investing enough in women’s sports.
Trust Dividend: 78% of women’s soccer fans trust women athletes. They are 34% more likely than other women’s sports fans to say they trust athletes “a lot.”
Brand Halo: 64% of fans see sponsors as progressive and 65% feel proud to support them. Sponsorship isn’t just reach - it’s reputation.
Viewing Behaviour: Nearly two-thirds (63%) of U.S. soccer fans watch women’s soccer. A quarter watch only the women’s game.
🧠 The Brand Opportunity
The U.S. women’s soccer audience is a marketer’s dream: engaged, values-driven, and primed to act. What makes this audience unique is the combination of cultural momentum and commercial responsiveness. Sponsorship isn’t seen as opportunistic here - it’s seen as genuine support. And fans reward it with both loyalty and spending power.
The most effective activations?
Athlete product collaborations (the #1 driver of engagement, with nearly half of fans likely to act).
Cause-driven campaigns and community initiatives.
Social giveaways and fan-first activations.
In other words: don’t just slap a logo on a jersey. Build authentic collaborations that align with athlete voices and fan values.
📌 Key Takeouts
⚡ Women’s soccer is one of the fastest-growing sports markets, with a projected 40% global fanbase growth by 2031.
💸 Fans convert: 25%+ have already purchased based on sponsorships, far ahead of other sports audiences.
🙌 Trust is currency: Women’s soccer fans are the most trusting of women athletes, and that trust transfers directly to brands.
👕 Apparel leads in awareness, but Food & Beverage, Health & Beauty, Travel, Tech, and Finance are categories with big headroom for impact.
🎯 The audience is differentiated: 25% of U.S. soccer fans watch only the women’s game. Ignore it, and you miss a quarter of the market.
🔮 What’s Next
The playbook is clear: the next five years will see women’s soccer evolve from an undervalued asset to a mainstream commercial engine. The brands that win will be those who:
Activate year-round, across both the NWSL and Gainbridge Super League, not just during marquee events.
Lean into athlete-led product collabs that merge sport, lifestyle, and culture.
Expand beyond the “usual suspects” (apparel, beverage) into tech, finance, travel, and retail, where fans are signalling demand.
See women’s soccer not as a CSR box-tick, but as a core brand growth channel.
Women’s soccer fans aren’t asking brands to show up. They’re demanding it. The question for marketers is simple: will you lead in this space, or play catch-up when the rest of the industry finally wakes up?