Fans of women’s sports show stronger interest in the surrounding lifestyle and culture (including athletes’ lives) than fans of men’s sports, providing rich opportunities to engage via content. Savvy brands are investing in podcasts, magazines, newsletters and video (across soccer, basketball and skateboarding), offering a perspective distinct from men’s sports coverage.

Connecting with younger female audiences means incubating fan fervour in the digital/online heartlands – largely unleveraged by sports brands – where they’re actively seeking inspiration (see Role Model Roll Call in A Field Guide to Tweens). Early forays involve Twitch, Roblox and tween-centring match coverage enlisting girls as sports broadcasters, where professional empowerment meets entertainment.

Sports events are getting an experiential makeover. Exemplifying brand opportunities for activating (and innovating) around women’s sports events, New York City-based women’s track, music and style spectacle Athlos (launched in autumn 2024) glamorously re-envisions the traditional track meet, while tentpole tennis and motor racing events offer beauty brands a blueprint for new modes of active sponsorship.

Brands can also connect with women’s sports fans by supporting a less hard-edged sports culture, including a fresh approach to fandom. Key strategies are backing inclusive, family-friendly spaces that welcome new fans to watch games and deploying communications that reflect a rejection of men’s sports’ intense (often toxic) rivalries.

American rugby union player Ilona Maher is among a crop of stars helping to de-stereotype women athletes – conveying that they can be equally strong and feminine, confident and sexy. This opens wider opportunities for partnerships with fashion and beauty brands wanting to reach a more progressive modern audience.

Brand ads and online ‘real talk’ initiatives are tackling key factors impeding adolescent girls’ participation in sports (from appearance anxiety to period stigma) and subsequent achievements – playing sports correlates with academic and career success, but 49% of girls worldwide stop participating during adolescence, a dropout rate six times higher than that of boys (Unesco, 2024).