Parity research indicates women’s soccer fans show above-average loyalty to sponsors in the space

The GIST: On Wednesday, women athlete sponsorship platform Parity released a report on the distinct brand opportunity among women’s soccer fans. While we’ve known that soccer fans tend to create uniquely passionate communities, Parity’s survey uncovered just how much that camaraderie extends to sponsors.

• So, we chatted with Parity’s research director Dr. Risa Isard yesterday on what these findings mean for brands looking to get into the beautiful game.

The methodology: In April, Parity partnered with SurveyMonkey to survey around 2.4K adults in the U.S., narrowing the data set to 1K who watched women’s sports throughout the year and were considered women’s sports fans. While the data initially wasn’t exclusive to women’s soccer fans, Dr. Isard said that these fans overindexed on certain traits, prompting Parity to highlight these insights.

The fans: Parity found that 63% of U.S. soccer fans watch women's soccer, with 38% of them watching women’s and men’s soccer and 25% only following the women’s game. Among avid fans, 49% follow the NWSL, 45% watch MLS, 32% follow the Gainsbridge Super League (GSL), and 10% watch all three leagues.

The consumers: According to the report, women’s soccer fans tend to pay attention to athlete endorsements and are 34% more likely than other women’s sports fans to trust athletes “a lot.” Athlete product collabs are the primary way they want to see brands activate, with nearly half saying they would be likely to engage with brands that do so.

• Though categories like apparel, food and beverage, and health and beauty still lead the way, women’s soccer fans are noticing rookies. They’re 1.9x as likely to be aware of travel brands, 1.5x as likely to be aware of tech brands, and 1.4x as likely to observe banking, financial services, and insurance sponsors in women’s sports. Eyes on the prize.

The takeaway: North America is known for its Big Four men’s leagues, but soccer fandom is steadily building — and it’s not just the game that’s becoming more popular. Parity’s data shows advertising in soccer pays like no other sport, something brands should consider in the lead-up to upcoming FIFA World Cups and the NWSL’s and GSL’s combined year-round domestic calendar.

• As Dr. Isard put it, “women’s soccer was really kind of screaming in the data.” We’re listening.