How many international footballers in the men’s game can you reel off without even trying – Lionel Messi? Cristiano Ronaldo? Harry Kane? They have all become household names, even for people not interested in the sport.
Now, how many superstar female players can you recall? Unless you’re an avid supporter of the game, football’s women won’t come so readily to mind; its shining lights simply don’t get the same visibility as their male counterparts.
But all that is about to change. The Fifa Women’s World Cup kicks off on in Paris on 7 June, and by the time the final ball is kicked one month later – after every game has been televised by the BBC – it could be a very different story.
Visa, which has not only sponsored this World Cup, but also signed a seven-year deal with Uefa across all its women’s competitions, is determined to give the stars of the upcoming tournament the coverage their skills deserve.
While many football fans feel money has made the top flight of men’s football unrelatable, financial support has been desperately lacking in the women’s game, crippling visibility, access to good facilities and opportunities for women to follow it as a full-time career.
Fifa has made clear its primary goals are to double the number of women participating in football – to 60 million players – by 2026. It also wants new revenue streams and a more sophisticated ecosystem encouraging leadership roles for women. They see Visa as the perfect partner, and this World Cup as a key stepping stone.
Visa’s one-minute advert, One Moment Can Change the Game, celebrates relatable rites of passage – from buying your first pair of boots and playing football with the boys, to receiving support from your coach and sharing experiences with your girl teammates. “It is female empowerment against the backdrop of women’s football,” explains Suzy Brown, Visa marketing director for the UK and Ireland.
“It is more than sponsorship for us – it is a partnership,” she adds. “We want to create a platform of change to tell these players’ stories. Women’s football has been stuck in a vicious circle. Games have been seen as less exciting because there are smaller audiences, therefore they are not on TV – so there’s a lack of visible female role models and, therefore, a lack of pipeline of new players. Now, it feels like it is at a tipping point, and we want to be a catalyst in that progress. It is important as it reflects our values.”
With two domestic teams – England and Scotland – in the World Cup, there will undoubtedly be a lot of interest in the UK.
Prince William, David Beckham, Emma Watson, Raheem Sterling, Alan Shearer, Ellie Goulding, James Corden and former England players Kelly Smith and Alex Scott – to name but a few – were involved in announcing the England Lionesses squad selection.
Brown describes the goosebump moment when she saw the star-studded announcement as “very emotional”, and wants that level of attention to be sustained. “I am sure we will see a halo effect when the World Cup is on, but we want to see it continue.”
Individual as well as team achievement has been highlighted in the creation of Team Visa, a selection of 18 European footballers who embody the Visa values of acceptance, inclusion and innovation. They include Lucy Bronze from the Lionesses, Kim Little from Scotland and Nadia Nadim, an Afghan refugee playing for Denmark.
“We wanted to sponsor women who will inspire the next generation, to create role models who share similar traits,” says Brown. “We’ve created a platform so they will be better known. They are determined and have worked hard to get where they are and are excited by what the future holds.
“When Nadia was a young child, her dad was killed by the Taliban and she had to flee. She ended up in a refugee camp in Denmark. It is where she played her first proper game of football.”
Sarai Bareman, chief women’s football officer at Fifa, says partnerships are key to the development of women’s football: “It is vital that we have partners like Visa heavily involved in our showpiece event. I am pleased to support the launch of their global campaign that centres on women’s empowerment.”
Visa’s focus on celebrating women across the globe continues off the pitch, with the launch of the Visa Everywhere Initiative: Women’s Global Edition, inviting female entrepreneurs to tackle fintech and social impact challenges.
“We want to create a level playing field to ensure that whether you are a female entrepreneur or small business owner, whether you are in the world of football or the world of business, you get the support you need. We want to encourage parity and equality,” says Brown.
Fans in France this summer can look forward to a feast of football, enhanced by commemorative contactless Visa pre-paid cards, payment-enabled wristbands and other new technologies that help to make queues for refreshments or memorabilia keep moving.
