It's a World Cup!

If you're not interested in experiencing pure and contagious joy, I'm sorry, but this article may not appeal to you at all. Before delving into any statistics-laden report, you need to go somewhere, like a bar with a big screen, order a drink, and keenly observe what's happening around you. I did just that.

When the Matildas played, I went to a hotel and felt my body react positively to the vibrant joy of the women present, the supportive camaraderie of many men (yes, friendships can exist between them!), and some discomfort among traditional fans watching another sport on a secondary screen, the small one. They seemed to have an attitude of "Hmm, what's happening right next to us, inside our protected enclave?"

Moving from the periphery to the mainstream can be nerve-wracking, putting a smile on one's face. In effect, male players make much more money, sign more contracts – in terms of quantity and value of the checks. Male players dominate almost all sports news. Astute strategists, however, know that the periphery holds the potential for the emergence of new movements. Absolutely, these current movements in female football will eventually take the place of the mainstream. What is secondary today enjoys excellent conditions to become the protagonist of tomorrow. Meanwhile, without proper curation – technical care – it could end in collapse and represent a significant loss of opportunity.

Excuses for the extra pints. Could women's football become the main football sport on the planet? Why not? In 2023, we are witnessing a spectacular convergence between the shift of gender protagonism in football practice and the powerful – and, precisely because of that, perceived as disturbing – feminist activism gaining prominence on all continents. This is also about marketing. No market analysis can discard the powerful behavior aggregator in marketing, precisely convergence, among fans, players, and pop culture.

There is much more support, interest, and engagement from the fans. The English Women’s Super League saw a whopping 729% attendance growth between 2017 and 2022. Moreover, in 2023, over 2 billion people already tuned in to the FIFA Women’s World Cup, up from 1.12 billion in 2019 (euromonitor.com/press). This combination is a winner. An operational structure available for coverage and engagement, and a tremendous desire to express many things about the universe of these actors.

Masses of people appear happy and relieved to watch women play, play well, and occupy a space that uncomfortably seemed unjustified by their will. In fact, quite the opposite. We now see smiles on faces, unconsciously declaring that seeing the world this way is much better than having to swallow the mistaken idea that the public wasn't interested because the players didn't play well. Men, teenage boys, and, of course, a massive audience cast by women.

All this is resonating powerfully together with the contemporary revitalized feminist championship for equal rights. The practice of a collective sport itself prompts a significant revision of deeply misguided ideas that are still in use. These deep-seated false thoughts that falsify the idea of nature are widespread and have an oppressive, toxic, and limiting effect on our ability to find solutions to contemporary problems. Women's football places them on equal footing with men, not because of the promotion of abstract principles, but due to the physical, organic evidence of capabilities, skills, and social reputation. This kind of misconception took place in countries like Brazil, where in 1941, a federal law was enacted to prohibit the practice of sports "incompatible with the conditions of their nature." Yes, in Brazil, female football was prohibited until 1983. Fortunately, it was eventually abolished after four decades.

In Brazil, female football was prohibited until 1983.

It seems that the practice of football is infecting hearts with joy. And this is just significant! Masses of people appear happy and relieved to watch women play, play well, and occupy a space that uncomfortably seemed unjustified by their will. In fact, quite the opposite. We now see smiles on faces, unconsciously declaring that seeing the world this way is much better than having to swallow the mistaken idea that the public wasn't interested because the players didn't play well. We see that a global event can be justified by the pure idea of playing on the field according to the rules and respecting those who worked hard to prepare the skills. No weapons, no bribery, no hate. We see in the hearts of the players that the sport is not being played as an immature manifestation of a sexist point of view. It's about people above all. We enjoy coming to the stadiums in a civilized manner. The fans come in families, with partners, friends, and this is happening with no necessary classification of age, gender, race, or religion. We are revitalizing the dream of a united planet. This is significant. This is urgent. This is sustainability.

This is a female cup! This is a world cup!

#strategy #behavioralchange #femalefootball #feminism #fifa2023