FIFA Women’s World Cup marketing—everything brands need to know

“When I first started playing with the national team, we rarely had anybody watching our games,” Carli Lloyd, a four-time Women’s World Cup soccer star and now a Fox Sports analyst, recalled in a recent interview with Ad Age. “The first World Cup I attended in 2007 was a World Cup, but it didn’t feel like it was a World Cup. We’ve come a long way.” The 2023 Women’s World Cup should definitely feel like one. The field has expanded from 24 to 32 teams, the prize money is greater, and there’s drama in the U.S. defending its back-to-back Cup titles against the world. Below, everything brands and fans need to know about the tournament, which begins in 15 days. When and where is the World Cup? It begins July 20 in Australia and New Zealand and concludes with the championship game scheduled for Aug. 20 at Stadium Australia in Sydney. The tournament consists of 32 national teams (up from 24 in the last Women’s World Cup in 2019). The teams are divided into eight groups of four. Those squads play round-robin with the top two teams from each group advancing to a 16-team knockout round. Team USA is the two-time defending champion. It is in group E along with Vietnam, Portugal and the Netherlands, which the U.S. defeated 2-0 in the championship of the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. The U.S. women’s group games will be contested in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand. FIFA said the Women’s World Cup would be the largest standalone women’s sporting event in the world, reaching an estimated 2 billion people and 1.5 million spectators. Ad Age Marketer’s Brief podcast Listen here or subscribe via Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music or Audible Click here Who sponsors the World Cup? FIFA’s corporate partners are Adidas, Coca-Cola Co., Wanda Group, Visa and Hyundai Motors. Women’s World Cup sponsors include Unilever, the software company Globant and McDonald’s. As part of a deal renewal announced this spring, McDonald’s will sponsor FIFA events through the 2026 World Cup. McDonald’s will get access to LED scoreboards and signage for branding, as well as exclusive naming rights to the Fair Play Trophy, which is presented to the team with the best fair play record during FIFA competitions. Unilever, and its personal care brands Rexona (also known as Sure and Degree, depending on where it is sold), Dove, Lifebuoy and Lux, will sponsor FIFA events through 2027 as part of a deal announced this spring. As part of the Women’s World Cup partnership, Unilever will provide funding and support for FIFA’s Women’s Development Program. Our #Rexona, @Dove, @Lifebuoy and #LUX brands are Official Sponsors of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. ⚽Together we will work on a range of initiatives to help accelerate the growth of women’s football globally.@FIFAWWC #FIFAWWCFind out more here 👇🏽— Unilever (@Unilever) May 12, 2023 Visa said it would present a fan-voted Player of the Match award for all 64 games—and make contributions to a woman-owned small business in each winner’s home country. The funding ranges in value from $5,000 for the 48 first-round matches up to $50,000 for the final. The winning women small business owners will be announced live at the athlete trophy presentation. The U.S. women’s team counts Nike, Volkswagen, Allstate, Visa, AT&T, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Truly, Biosteel, Chipotle, Deloitte, GoGo Squeez, Headspace, EA Sports, Kwik Goal and KT Tape as its official partners. Nike designed the U.S. team's uniforms (also known as kits) and stated they were inspired by the abstract expressionist movement, which moved the attention of the art world from Europe to the U.S. USA: Home or Away pic.twitter.com/wPTH5YRLbG— Nike Football (@nikefootball) June 9, 2023 Volkswagen is sponsoring a #WeBelieve campaign asking fans to submit messages of support for the U.S. team that will be displayed in the player tunnel as well as other prominent areas throughout the venue during the July 9 “Send-Off” game against Wales in San Jose, California. “Interest in the Women’s World Cup is dramatically increasing, which opens the door for traditionally male-centric brands to tap into new demographics—and for brands with traditionally female audiences to organically extend their presence into the sports realm,” said Gregg Morton, CEO of Fooji, a fan engagement platform for brands. Anticipating sizeable Gen Z viewership, Morton advises brands to engage fans on social platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube “since this is where 18-to-24-year-old women’s soccer fans will go for most of their content,” he said. “This demographic also tends to prefer live games, memes, and inspirational stories, so making funny TikTok videos, commenting on game highlight videos, or spotlighting inspiring player stories on Instagram can be great places to start.” Where can I watch the World Cup? Fox acquired U.S. and Canadian FIFA broadcast rights for FIFA World Cup events through 2026. NBCUniversal’s Telemundo has U.S. Spanish-language broadcast rights. Fox will air a record 29 games live, with another 35 airing on FS1. All games will stream on the Fox Sports app. Fox Sports execs said ad inventory was 90% sold out in early June, with ad revenue up 50% from 2019. The moment we first revealed the 'Liberty Alex' statue to @alexmorgan13 🗽🇺🇸@USWNT | @ussoccer pic.twitter.com/6DDmn1UP0j— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 27, 2023 In Europe, a TV blackout in soccer’s biggest countries was averted when FIFA announced an extension of a deal with the European Broadcasting Union to broadcast games over EBU’s free-to-air linear TV network. The deal, which had covered 28 European territories, was amended to also include the “big five” nations of the U.K., Spain, France, Germany and Italy, along with Ukraine. FIFA President Gianni Infantino had sharply criticized the offers from broadcasters from the “big five,” saying those countries would go without World Cup coverage because they made “unacceptable” offers for broadcast rights. A blackout remains a possibility in Japan, where broadcasters have also yet to strike a deal with FIFA. While the time differences between the U.S. and Australia and New Zealand means much of the action will take place overnight, two of the U.S. team’s group games will air in prime time, including its opening game on July 21 vs. Vietnam, starting at 9 p.m. EDT (the game starts at 1 p.m. in New Zealand). The July 26 game vs. the Netherlands is also a 9 p.m. EDT start. DVR alert: the U.S. game against Portugal on Aug. 1 starts at 3 a.m. EDT. The championship game will air live at 6 a.m. EDT Aug. 20. If you’re a thirsty night owl World Cup fan in Washington, D.C. then you’re in luck: District lawmakers passed an ordinance allowing bars to stay open 24 hours a day during the event. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs What’s at stake? Total compensation of $152 million, including $110 million in prize money. The compensation is three times more than in 2019—and 10 times that of 2015, FIFA said. It remains a far cry from the $440 million pool the men’s players played for in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. FIFA has set a goal to bring women’s remuneration to parity with the men’s World Cup by 2027 and is relying heavily on sponsors and broadcast revenue to get there. For this World Cup, participating players in the group stage will receive $30,000 each. Round of 16 players earn $60,000, quarterfinalists $90,000, on up to $270,000 per player for the championship club. Organizations will make a minimum of $1.56 million for the group stage, climbing to $4.29 million for the champion. “The global salary of women’s professional footballers is approximately $14,000 annually so the amounts allocated under this unprecedented new distribution model will have a real and meaningful impact on the lives and careers of these players,” Infantino said in a statement. “Beyond this, all member associations will also receive a record financial distribution based on their performance, which they can use to reinvest back into football in their countries and which we believe will help to propel the women’s game even further.” Who’s going to win? Coming off back-to-back championships, the United States is looking to be the first squad in men’s or women’s World Cup history to win three in a row. DraftKings as of June 28 has the U.S. at +250—the best odds of the 32 teams in the tournament (England is next at +350). The latest Coca-Cola World Rankings of women’s soccer teams lists the U.S. first with 2090.03 points, followed by Germany, Sweden, England and France. In a tournament simulation run by EA Sports, the U.S. women defeated Germany in the final, 4-2. Championship contenders include Brazil, England, Germany, France and Australia, experts say. The U.S. could only meet England or Australia in the final, as they are on opposite halves of the draw. Who are the players to watch? The U.S. named its 23-player World Cup roster in style, engaging singers (Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion), athletes (Shaquille O’Neal, Mikaela Shiffrin) and Joe and Jill Biden to make the announcements in a video. 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄! We asked a few friends to help with this year’s World Cup roster announcement 🤩 Visit https://t.co/sLCJ8RhiOx for full details 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/TckXmhgQyy— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 21, 2023 The team retained nine veterans of its last World Cup victory in France, including Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Rose Lavelle, Julie Ertz, Alyssa Naeher, and Kelley O’Hara. That means there are 14 new players including rising stars such as forwards Alyssa Thompson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman (daughter of former NBA star Dennis Rodman), midfielder Savannah Demelo, and defender Naomi Girma. Mallory Swanson and Becky Sauerbrunn are among those who will not play due to injury. Sophia Smith is inevitable. Blows by the Red Stars’ defense and makes no mistake about where she wants to put this one. It’s her seventh goal of the 2023 league campaign for Portland. #ColoradoSoccer pic.twitter.com/VYozwFULLp— Brendan Ploen (@BrendanPloen) June 18, 2023 International stars to watch include Sam Kerr of Australia; Lauren Hemp and Fran Kirby of England; Spain’s Alexia Putellas; and Wendie Renard of France. On social media, the tournament’s biggest star may be Switzerland’s Alisha Lehmann, who leads a ranking of the top women’s football Instagram influencers, according to Nielsen InfluenceScope. Putellas, Morgan and England captain Leah Williamson, who will miss the tournament due to injury, follow Lehmann in Nielsen’s rankings. Lehmann has posted on behalf of fashion brand Boohoo, perfume company Gisada, EA Sports and Coca-Cola. Her branded posts deliver an average media value of more than $300,000, Nielsen figures show. How is Team USA marketing itself? U.S. Soccer’s brand and marketing team, along with a creative collective comprised primarily of women creatives from diverse backgrounds, in April unveiled a video and campaign called “Always Possible/Todo es Posible.” The campaign development included input from the USWNT players, U.S. Soccer’s Sporting Department, and fan research incorporating key insights about U.S. Soccer’s multicultural fan base, a spokesman said. The video is narrated by Natalie Portman, the lead owner of the Angel City FC women’s soccer club. Among players, Alex Morgan had 27 brand deals in 2022, making her the most endorsed woman athlete of the year, according to SponsorUnited. Morgan is endorsed by Coca-Cola, Google, Chipotle, Michelob Ultra and AT&T, among others. Ads with the team: USWNT stars appear in an ESPN commercial Lego Group released a new set called Icons of Play that renders Rapinoe, Kerr, Japan’s Yuki Nagasato and Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala as Lego figures. The 899-piece soccer stadium set accompanies a campaign from the Danish toymaker called “Play Unstoppable” that aims to break down stereotypes around play for girls and encourage them to play without boundaries. The campaign cited commissioned research from the Geena Davis Institute showing that girls are increasingly confident to engage in all types of play and creative activities, but are held back by society’s gender stereotypes. Any controversies I should know about? FIFA came under heavy criticism from some players for naming Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima to be FIFA’s Global Fan Ambassador. Seriously, #FIFA, is this the fan engagement ambassador we need as the @FIFAWWC approaches? #tonedeaf https://t.co/a7O2WHRr6g pic.twitter.com/s2S6wvJmFx— moya dodd (@moyadodd) February 28, 2023 FIFA also took a hit earlier this year amid a rumored sponsor deal with Visit Saudi, the Saudi Arabian tourism firm. Critics said the link would enable Saudi Arabia to use FIFA to “sportswash” its human rights record, a similar rap now haunting the PGA. As the sponsorship deal died, Infantino dismissed the controversy as a “storm in a teacup.” In the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year, FIFA crushed a player-led campaign to wear rainbow armbands in a show of support for gay rights (Infantino, however, later came to the aid of a protestor who ran onto the pitch with a Pride flag). In a politically charged atmosphere that has damaged brands such as Target and Bud Light, MLB and NHL have been leery of Pride symbols on official game or warm-up apparel. Read more: LGBTQ+ group criticizes NHL Pride jersey policy FIFA said it would permit women’s teams to wear one of eight approved armbands supporting various social causes and partner organizations under its global “FIFA Unites the World” umbrella. These include Unite for Inclusion, in partnership with UN Human Rights; Unite for Gender Equality, in partnership with UN Women; and Football is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope & Passion, in partnership with the World Health Organization. FIFA said the topics were chosen after consultation with teams, players and United Nations agencies. Team captains will have discretion as to the armbands teams wear. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

FIFA Women’s World Cup marketing—everything brands need to know

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