Investing in Women’s Sports Starts With Our Girls
There’s never been more momentum in women’s sports. Investors are energized, valuations are climbing, TV ratings are breaking records, and global brands are lining up to get involved. It’s an incredible moment—one that’s been decades in the making.
But there’s a hard truth we cannot afford to ignore:
A thriving professional ecosystem is impossible to sustain if we aren’t investing in the physical and mental well-being of the girls who will one day power it.
The pipeline matters. And right now, it’s fragile.
The Hidden Crisis Beneath the Momentum
While the world celebrates the success of women’s sports, girls’ participation is declining in many communities. Those who do stay in sport face barriers—economic, cultural, and structural—that directly impact their physical and mental health.
Consider what today’s girls are up against:
• Skyrocketing injury rates, particularly ACL tears, in early and mid-adolescence
• Overuse injuries linked to early specialization and high-pressure club environments
• Rising mental health challenges, including anxiety, burnout, and body-image stress
• Dropout spikes around age 13, often due to costs, toxic environments, or lack of access
• Underfunded programs, outdated equipment, and limited female coaches or mentors
This isn’t just a youth sports issue. It’s a future talent issue. These girls are tomorrow’s pros, tomorrow’s leaders, tomorrow’s innovators.
What is the point of building the biggest, boldest, most commercially successful women’s leagues the world has ever seen if the next generation arrives already depleted?
You Can’t Scale a Pro League on a Broken Foundation
Investors often talk about “upside,” “long-term value,” and “sustainable growth.” In women’s sports, the long-term value doesn't begin at the draft. It begins at age 6, 7, 8—when a girl first experiences sport as a place where she is supported, strong, and safe.
A pro league can only be as healthy as the development system feeding it.
If young athletes are burning out, getting injured, or dropping out before they even hit high school, the entire ecosystem loses:
• Fewer elite athletes reach the top.
• More careers are shortened due to preventable injuries.
• Mental health struggles intensify in competitive environments.
• The storylines that fuel fan excitement fade, because fewer stars are able to shine.
You can’t build the future of women’s sports without building the future of girls’ sports.
Investing in Girls’ Sports Is Investing in the Product You Care About
If investors truly believe in the business opportunity behind women’s sports, then supporting youth girls’ sports isn’t charity—it’s strategy.
Here’s what meaningful investment looks like:
1. Investing in Access
Affordable, community-based programs keep girls in the game long enough to develop.
2. Investing in Female Coaches
Girls thrive when they see women leading teams, teaching confidence, and modeling strength.
3. Investing in Injury Prevention
Strength training programs, proper facilities, and coach education reduce career-altering injuries.
4. Investing in Mental Health
Sports should build resilience—not erode it. Resources like sport psychologists, safe environments, and coach training change everything.
5. Investing in Holistic Development
A girl should leave sport not only as a better athlete, but as a stronger human being.
If You Want Champions, You Must First Protect Children
Every highlight reel, every sellout crowd, every contract extension, every sponsorship, every broadcast deal starts years before a pro athlete ever steps onto a televised court or pitch.
It starts with a girl being given the chance to play, safely and joyfully.
If investors are truly “all in” on women’s sports, then it’s time to widen the lens. Because the health of the system—and the health of our daughters—depends on it.
Women’s sports are rising.
Let’s make sure girls rise with them.
Thoughts on this piece? Reach out to Female Footballers at info@femalefootballers.org