A report released by analytics company Nielsen Sports and beverage corporation PepsiCo this week indicates that women's soccer is on track to amass upward of 800 million fans by 2030 — eventually making it the fifth largest sport in the world.
Nielsen estimates that women's soccer currently has the world's 10th biggest fanbase, but the study's prediction of a 38% increase in reach over the next five years would have the sport eventually rivaling top spectator draws like pro tennis and Formula One.
Already a powerhouse in the US, the rise of the European women's game has been particularly significant.
For example, the UK-hosted 2022 Euro saw fan interest in the women's game double in England, with that growth beginning well before the Lionesses' historic title win.
The report also notes that women's soccer still lags behind in terms of corporate sponsorship, highlighting increased opportunities for brands as the fanbase expands.
"We see women's football as more than just a sport," said PepsiCo EVP and chief marketing and growth officer Jane Wakely. "It's a cultural force with the power to connect, inspire and grow our brands."
"From media rights to sponsorship and fan engagement, this is no longer a case of future promise but present value," said Nielsen Sports head of international Samantha Lamberti.
Ultimately, the current trajectory of women's soccer is seeing the sport carve out a more powerful place in the global market — so long as investors also see the vision.
"We have long believed in the potential of women's football," added Lamberti. "Today, we're no longer just tracking progress, we're witnessing a breakthrough."
MLB is going all in on elevating the women's diamond, with the men's pro baseball league reportedly making an eight-figure investment for an equity stake of over 20% in the brand-new Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) — just in time for the venture's debut season.
Though MLB has a long history partnering with USA Softball and sponsoring initiatives in and around the game of softball, this week's AUSL announcement marks the baseball organization's first-ever investment in a professional softball league.
"We thought rather than starting on our own and competing, that finding a place where we could invest and grow a business was a better opportunity," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told the Associated Press on Thursday.
Along with the financial backing that will bolster AUSL's operations and growth plans, MLB is partnering with the new league to boost its visibility through marketing, sales, and content distribution across MLB platforms — including the airing of select AUSL games on MLB Network and MLB.com.
"This is a watershed moment for women's sports and especially for softball," AUSL Commissioner Kim Ng — who notably broke barriers in her previous career as an SVP and, later, GM in MLB — said in a league statement.
"MLB's investment will supercharge our efforts to build the sustainable professional league this sport has long deserved, and sends a powerful message about the value of female athletes and the importance of creating professional opportunities for them."
Softball legends pitch in to build Athletes United success
Athletes Unlimited has been active in the softball space with their unique, individual athlete-centered competition system since 2020, with AUSL marking their first stab at a more traditional league format.
Beginning with the league's first pitch on June 7th, four teams — the Bandits, Blaze, Talons, and Volts — will play a traveling 24-game season across 10 cities prior to a best-of-three championship series between the top two AUSL teams in late July.
With an advisory board of former college and Team USA stars — including Jennie Finch, Natasha Watley, Jessica Mendoza, and Cat Osterman — plus a roster of US softball legends-turned-NCAA coaches like Lisa Fernandez (UCLA) and Stacey Nuveman-Deniz (San Diego State) leading the four teams, AUSL is tapping the sport's best to build a strong foundation for future league success.
With plans to establish city-based squads next year, AUSL is capitalizing on one of the country's most popular college sports — all while creating a sustainable pipeline for current and future NCAA softball stars to turn pro.
According to a Thursday report from The Athletic, shares of the New York Liberty were recently sold at a $450 million valuation, making the reigning WNBA champions the most valuable franchise in women's sports.
Valued at $130 million just last year, the Liberty's new record-breaking worth is over 30 times what majority owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai paid for the team in January 2019.
The shares in the multi-investor purchase account for an ownership percentage in the "mid-teens," with the capital intended to help fund an $80 million state-of-the-art training facility near the team's Barclays Center home in Brooklyn.
Growing investment in women's sports fuel high valuations
New York's valuation more than doubles the last-known WNBA capital raise, when the Dallas Wings sold 1% of their franchise at a $208 million valuation last August.
The NWSL's Angel City FC previously held the top mark in women's sports, valued at $250 million in last summer's sale to USC dean Willow Bay and her Disney CEO husband, Bob Iger.
Earlier this month, however, WSL champs Chelsea FC surpassed the LA club behind a $26.6 million investment from Reddit co-founder and tennis icon Serena Williams's husband, Alexis Ohanian.
With varied sources placing Ohanian's stake between 8% and 10%, the Blues valuation in that transaction lands in the $265 million to $331 million range — still trailing the Liberty by a hefty margin.
According to Wu Tsai, this is just the beginning, with the business leader boldly predicting blockbuster growth for her Brooklyn team — and the WNBA at-large — at a May 2024 event.
"I believe that in 10 years — or less — I'll be able to come back here to tell you how we turned the New York Liberty into the world's first billion-dollar women's sports franchise," she said.
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is Chelsea FC's newest owner, with the husband of tennis icon Serena Williams reportedly dropping £20 million ($26.6 million) on a 10% stake in the WSL champions earlier this week.
Ohanian is no stranger to investing in women's sports, from launching Angel City as the 2022 NWSL expansion club's majority owner to last year's founding of Athlos NYC, an annual women's track and field event with a $663,000 purse.
"I've bet big on women's sports before — and I'm doing it again," Ohanian posted on social media on Wednesday. "I'm proud to announce that I'm joining @ChelseaFCW as an investor and board member. I'm honored for the chance to help this iconic club become America's favorite @BarclaysWSL team and much, much more."
"These players are rewriting the game. Undefeated season. Eyes on the treble," said Ohanian about Chelsea FC's historic 2024/25 success. "But this isn't just about winning titles. It's about finally matching their talent with the resources, visibility, and respect they deserve."
Ohanian's investment comes amid soaring valuations for women's pro teams — with Chelsea's $257 million price tag ranking as the highest in all of women's soccer.
Calling Ohanian's buy-in "game-changing," Blues manager Sonia Bompastor told reporters on Thursday that "It's really important for the women's game but also for England to have someone to invest in a team like Chelsea."
"We want to be the leaders," she continued. "We want to be the team who shows to every other team how you need to perform and how you need to invest in the women's game."
Women's clubs still successful after splitting with men's teams
Ohanian's investment also indicates Chelsea's commitment to further distancing their women's team operations from their men's side, following last June's ownership move to place the women's squad under an independent subsidiary.
Though most European women's teams remain closely affiliated with their men's counterparts, severing ties is on the rise, with US billionaire Michele Kang assuming majority ownership over women's clubs Olympique Lyonnais and the newly promoted London City Lionesses in recent years.
With skyrocketing revenue — plus Kang's fleet proving that independence benefits women's teams — expect to see even more US investors eyeing women's sports opportunities abroad.
US soccer legend Alex Morgan is back in the game, becoming a minority owner of her former NWSL club by investing in the San Diego Wave FC on Tuesday.
One of the 2022 expansion side's first signings, Morgan captained the Wave to their 2023 NWSL Shield win before retiring in September 2024 as the team's all-time leader in both goals (28) and assists (11).
"San Diego is where I've built my home, where I am raising my children, and found a purpose beyond my playing career," Morgan said in a club statement. "I believed in Wave FC before a single match was played, and I still believe this club has the power to change the future of women's sports."
Morgan joins an ownership group led by the Leichtman-Levine family. The Leichtmans purchased the team from founding owner Ron Burkle at a reported $113 million valuation last year.
"Alex has always fought to positively impact this game beyond the pitch," said Wave FC controlling owner Lauren Leichtman. "Her decision to invest is not only a continuation of her leadership but also a reflection of her belief in what we are building."
The two-time World Cup champion appears to be making good on her desire to shape the women's sports landscape after hanging up her boots, also buying into Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball ahead of the league's early 2025 debut.
"I was on board [with Unrivaled] from day one," Morgan told Boardroom in January. "Fans want to see what a player's personality is and who they vibe with, what drives them, and I think that being able to mesh that with competition, it already [is] a home run here with Unrivaled. So it would be really exciting to do something with other women's sports as well."
Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang is going all in to grow US women’s soccer, announcing an additional investment of $25 million into US Soccer last Friday.
The move follows Kang's November 2024 initial gift of $30 million over the course of five years, earmarked for talent identification and increased youth competition opportunities for future USWNT players, as well as professional development for female players, coaches, and referees.
Friday's investment follows a slightly different, yet parallel path in that it aims to "accelerate advancements in the women’s game through science, innovation, and elevated best practices" by integrating Kang’s Kynisca Innovation Hub into US Soccer’s Soccer Forward Foundation.
Kynisca, US Soccer collab aims to scale research and standards
Under the umbrella of Kang’s global multi-team organization Kynisca Sports International, the Innovation Hub is a science-based platform that aims to improve research and development for women’s sports athletes.
Similarly, the Soccer Forward Foundation aims to grow the game by expanding access, all while implementing the sport's latest research and guidelines.
Friday's partnership between the two organizations has two main goals: improving the sport's health outcomes via research and solution-oriented initiatives, and creating and implementing best-practice standards to grow the global game.
According to USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone, the new collaboration will "[help] ensure [the US will] remain at the forefront of progress as the sport continues to grow around the world" by "[driving] real change through research-backed standards that support players at every level."
Kang, who also owns top French side Lyon and second-tier UK club London City, noted that the collaboration "represents a major step forward in advancing research and setting new standards for women’s sports."
"By working together, we are ensuring that players at all levels benefit from innovative insights and best practices," Kang said in a statement. "Women’s soccer is experiencing historic growth, but there’s still work to be done to break down systemic barriers and secure the investment needed for female athletes."
The WNBA and NWSL welcomed some new high-profile owners on Monday, as Serena Williams and Sabrina Ionescu announced investments in the country’s leading pro women’s sports leagues.
Tennis icon Williams is purchasing a stake in the Toronto Tempo. There, the 23-time Grand Slam winner will subsequently weigh in on the 2026 WNBA expansion team's visual elements like jersey designs, merchandise deals, and more.
"Serena is a champion," noted Tempo president Teresa Resch. "She’s set the bar for women in sport, business, and the world — and her commitment to using that success to create opportunities for other women is inspiring."
Meanwhile, 2024 WNBA champion and Bay Area product Ionescu also padded her portfolio. Ionescu bought into 2024 NWSL addition Bay FC, where she’ll serve as an official commercial advisor.
"Sabrina is the ultimate innovator and creates new pathways for aspiring and current professional athletes," said team CEO Brady Stewart. "Adding her passion and vision to what we are building at Bay FC will allow us to further disrupt the sports landscape."
Athlete investors lead the way in growing women's sports
Both current and retired athletes are increasingly buying into the business side of women’s sports. The list includes USWNT alums Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, and Abby Wambach backing Angel City FC and WNBA legend Sue Bird buying into the Seattle Storm and Gotham FC.
Earlier this year, 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark threw her support behind Cincinnati’s recent NWSL expansion bid.
"This moment is not just about basketball," said Williams. "It is about showcasing the true value and potential of female athletes — I have always said that women’s sports are an incredible investment opportunity."
"I whole-heartedly understand how important investment really is and obviously you can talk about it and be about it, but you really have to want to be committed to it and invest to be able to see what you believe in come to light," echoed Ionescu.
Ownership doesn't only keep legends in the game. It also proves that women’s sports are a booming business.
"It hasn't happened overnight for us. It's been years and years for us of athletes kicking down the door, voice what it is that they want to see. It's taken investment, and now expansion," added Ionescu.
"To see it now in real-time — viewership, attendance, sponsorships — everything is at an all-time high."