Visa says at least half of its spend on US Soccer will continue to go toward women’s game

Visa re-upped its sponsorship deal with the US Soccer Federation (USSF), continuing an agreement started in 2019 that guarantees at least 50% of the brand’s investment in the sport will be allocated to the US Women’s National Team and other women’s soccer initiatives.

The deal secures Visa’s spot as the exclusive payment services partner of both the men’s and women’s national teams through 2028, and represents the continuation of not only Visa’s efforts to improve gender equality in sports, but also similar efforts from other brands, media companies, and organizations this year.

Viva Visa: As part of its deal with the federation, Visa will keep its status as presenting partner of the SheBelieves Cup, an international women’s soccer tournament. The deal also led to the creation of the “SheBelieves MVP award grant” funded by Visa, which will give a $25,000 grant to a women-owned small business in the US on behalf of the fan-voted MVP, according to the USSF.

Outside of SheBelieves, Visa serves as a presenting partner of US Soccer’s Fan Mobile Studio—a “pop-up retail experience” at US soccer matches, with meet-and-greets and merch—and offers its cardholders perks like custom jerseys and early access to  tickets to national team matches.

Financial aid: Visa isn’t the only brand in the financial services space that’s investing in women’s sports, soccer included.

• Ally Financial is a major NWSL sponsor, notably pledging to split its ad spend on men’s and women’s sports equally within five years, and has big plans for the World Cup.
• Mastercard, another NWSL partner, recently hosted a conference about women leadership in sports.

Summer of soccer: With the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in full swing, Visa—like many other brands—has a handful of initiatives tied to the tournament.

• Visa’s Player of the Match grant program will give grants totalling $500,000 to women-owned small businesses in the US whenever a USWNT player wins the Visa Player of the Match award.
• In April, Visa acknowledged the 100-day countdown mark to the World Cup by adding 33 women’s soccer players to its Team Visa program, which sponsors hundreds of athletes.
• In May, Visa teamed up with digital youth engagement platform Year13 to roll out PlayOn, a platform that aims to address young girls dropping out of sports in Australia and New Zealand, where the World Cup is taking place.

Meanwhile, brands snapped up Fox Sports’s ad inventory, snagged sponsorship opportunities with NBCUniversal and Roku, and put together experiential campaigns.

• FanDuel, for instance, worked with Wieden+Kennedy New York on a campaign called “FanFuel,” sending branded trucks to four US cities to give away free coffee given the early wake-ups sometimes required to catch the games in Australia and New Zealand.
• Klarna created an in-app game that gives users a chance to win Nike merch.
• Chipotle has a few initiatives underway, including partnerships with USWNT members Rose Lavelle and Sophia Smith.
• Google Pixel is running an ad starring Megan Rapinoe.