African footballers deserve better
From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
Wanna start your Thursday with some controversy?
This week, FIFA announced plans to create a new company, FIFA Forward Enterprise, to oversee its main events, including the men’s and women’s World Cup…and sell a large minority stake in that company to private investors, potentially tripling development funding.
- It seems like no one’s happy — especially not European soccer’s governing body UEFA, setting up a dramatic campaign in which FIFA must convince a majority of its member associations to approve the move. Watch this space.
Women’s soccer
⚽ What’s going on?
The GIST: The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) is a major continental soccer tournament that occurs every two years. And yet, for the second straight iteration, logistical failures and neglect from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have affected the quality and success of the event. The world is mad and so are we, so let’s rage scroll and get into the deets.
📆 The delay: WAFCON 2026 was slated to start this spring in Morocco, but a mere 12 days before the opening match and as players were already reporting for national team duty, the CAF postponed the tournament due to unforeseen circumstances.
- And, this wasn’t the first time the CAF moved their premier women’s tournament: In 2024, participants had to wait 19 months after the end of qualification because the federation didn’t realize WAFCON was scheduled during the 2024 Paris Olympics, where two countries — Zambia and Nigeria — were set to compete. Yikes.
🏟️ The logistics: Keeping the tourney in the same calendar year might have been a victory if it wasn’t so hard to see the games. Following the popular FIFA men’s World Cup, WAFCON organizers could have capitalized on that excitement with more international soccer, but their lack of promotion and media deals, especially in the bustling UK market, has left fans frustrated.
🚨 The importance: The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) in Brazil is less than a year away and WAFCON is the only qualifying route for African teams, meaning this tournament isn’t only for glory. Making the quarter-finals is crucial — the four winners in that round receive an automatic WWC berth, while the four losers enter a global playoff tournament.
🔭 Zooming out: Although the confederation did some things right, like doubling the winner’s prize purse and expanding the field from 12 to 16 teams, the disrespect still stings. Instead of drawing fans in with icons like back-to-back NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga and elite striker Barbra Banda, the CAF is missing out on additional growth and exposure for their rising national teams ahead of the WWC.
- Luckily, BeIN Sports is broadcasting games in both Canada and the U.S. so fans can get the international footy fix they’ve been missing. Yes, please.
🎓 Women student-athletes are cashing in on NIL deals as elite content creators
According to a new report from Learfield, women’s sports are closing the gap with football and men’s basketball when it comes to NIL compensation — women’s basketball was third on the list of top earners and softball jumped to No. 5. The report also noted a 123% YoY increase in participation for women in the NIL space.
- Authenticity, storytelling, and social media savvy are more important than ever for brands trying to attract the millennial and Gen Z consumer base, and that’s where women college athletes thrive — at least according to Solly Fulp, Learfield’s head of NIL. Cha-ching.
🏀 WNBA viewership continues to skyrocket in record-breaking season
From last weekend’s All-Star Game — up 44% from 2025 with a whopping 3.2M viewers — to the regular season’s marquee matchups, the WNBA is in the midst of its most-watched season ever. The league had entertained more than 73M viewers before the All-Star Weekend festivities last week, a 12% YoY increase.
- As for single-game metrics, the WNBA’s most-watched game to date — a July 12th tilt between the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever — drew 2.6M, while the most-watched broadcast that didn’t include Indy still averaged an impressive 1.5M viewers.
🥎 AUSL’s growth in its second season underscores league’s staying power
Business is booming in women’s softball — just ask the AUSL, whose second season was a resounding success. Case in point? Game 1 of the AUSL Championship wasn’t just the first pro softball game to be nationally broadcast, it also averaged 732K viewers on ABC to become the most-watched pro softball game ever.
- And the title game’s remarkable draw is only the beginning: Regular-season viewership across ESPN platforms increased 183% YoY, merchandise sales were up 110% YoY, and the league garnered 453M social media impressions (up 97% YoY). Swinging for the fences.
🎾 According to Sportico, Linda Noskova leads women tennis players in 2026 tournament winnings, and six of the top 10 earners are women. What a serve.
🏀 Cleveland’s forthcoming WNBA franchise announced Cleveland Clinic as its third founding partner, joining Progressive Insurance and KeyBank.
💺 Off Season founder and famous NFL WAG Kristin Juszczyk partnered with La-Z-Boy to give away three custom Jer-Z-Boy recliners designed with her signature football-chic style. Consider us sat.
👏 Front Office Sports partnered with EY to produce a report documenting how Americans engage with sports. Our top takeaway? That women engage with participation-led and wellness-oriented sports (think yoga) at almost the same rates as men.
🏐 The bracket is officially set for August’s Spike Under the Lights, the collegiate women’s volleyball showcase promising a $1M prize purse: Nebraska will face Florida and Penn State will play SMU. Bumping to the top.
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