Covering both women’s sports and Olympic and Paralympic movements, I spend a lot of time talking with properties, governing bodies and brands about how to leverage growth from the LA28 Games and several other global events coming to the United States in the near future.
Few are better poised to use those major events to slingshot growth in the next five years than the NWSL.
Already in major growth mode with expansion to 18 teams by 2028 (and the potential to add two more), the run of major events is enviable:
- FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 in Brazil (importantly, in an East Coast-friendly time zone)
- LA28 Games, where women’s soccer will have more teams than the men for the first time in Olympic history
- FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2031, with U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica (the only bidders) tentatively slated as hosts
That opportunity has new CMO Rachel Epstein building the architecture of the NWSL’s marketing plan from the immediate, with the league’s championship week in Washington, D.C. in November, to the World Cup next year.
“Everybody should have a vested interest in creating that club-and-country connection around the athletes that are going to go off to the World Cup because those athletes are going to come back and be on their platforms,” she said when I caught up with her in New York earlier this month. “Obviously, it’s a focus of the league to acquire new fans and keep them.”
After joining the league in April, Epstein outlined the basic structure of its plan to leverage the major moments ahead.
Make folks feel FOMO: Championship weekend is the league’s tentpole event, and it’s looking to raise the profile this year. With its awards show, skills challenge, fan fest and even a 5K, the NWSL is hoping to increase the attention on the league beyond the championship game.
In addition to taking over The Wharf DC with fan fest, Epstein said the league will amplify the event with live podcast recordings with big-name guests, involving content creators and using the buzz of celebrity to draw fans in.
“We’re programming [fan fest] really intentionally with the kind of content, live content that will travel,” she said. “We will have all of that for our core fans, but I think about it as audience expansion. … How are we targeting those newly engaged fans that are coming in through a cultural moment like NWSL Awards and bringing them into the championship window?”
Hammer club-and-country connection:Much of 2027 will be leveraging the World Cup, starting with the league’s opener in February — which was intentionally moved up to draft off the Super Bowl.
The NWSL is working on turnkey opportunities for media and brand partners to create content going into the tournament. It will eventize the send-off games for its players and work with clubs to create watch parties and amplify those connections while the league’s stars are playing for their countries.
“It really is for the good of all of us and the business opportunity for the entire ecosystem that we all insert ourselves into the conversation that is going to happen,” she said.
Of particular note is expanding beyond the typical storytelling of players’ journey to the World Cup or who they are off the field. The NWSL will look to convert fans who come in through the top of the funnel by introducing them more to the sport and its culture.
“What does it look like to really understand what you’re watching and what makes a player the best in her position if she’s not scoring goals?” Epstein said. “There’s really exciting and interesting opportunities to dimensionalize that.”
(Having spent many an Olympics explaining what a triple cork 1440 or other various snowboarding tricks are, I can’t tell you how valuable something like this is.)
Iterate: LA28 offers a new opportunity, and the strength of the USWNT and a domestic audience can further help boost the league. But it’s not a simple copy-paste.
While the World Cup is bigger in the sport, an at-home Games offers a new chance to pull in fans. And a chance to learn when they get to combine both in five years.
“There will be so much pattern recognition in the run up as we get into 2031 that I’m super excited about everything we’ll know and be able to execute when we get to 2031,” she said.
