The 2027 Women’s World Cup Is Coming. Where Are the Brands?

With Spain officially crowned the champions of an exciting version of the Men’s FIFA World Cup, our eyes are instantly looking ahead to 2027. (Well, maybe one last glance in the rearview for Erling Haaland?) The Women’s World Cup is coming to South America for the first time ever, and will be played in 8 cities across Brazil from June 24th through July 25th. Will Spain leave as back to back champions? Will the United States regain their dominance? Will England, Canada or Sweden pull off the upset? We cannot wait for the watch parties, the drama, the celebrations and the storylines.

We are a partnership company: we help brands find female athletes, and female athletes find brands. So. My idea for this article was to highlight brands who are already highlighting the 2027 Copa de Mundo Feminina. But while the hype will inevitably be as high as ever, the strategy side hasn’t been straightforward.

There were several countries that put in bids to host the Women’s World Cup after the success of the New Zealand and Australia co-host in 2023. However, the voting process to determine the following host nation(s) was only conducted in 2024, leaving the ultimately chosen Brazil with only 3 years’ time to plan everything. The World Cup’s sponsorship sales program only opened on July 27th of 2026, leaving commercial partners scrambling to create meaningful partnerships with the market that the World Cup will take part in. The timing of these decisions and roll outs has been so condensed that there are really very few partners who have already created ad campaigns targeted towards the World Cup.

In comparison, the men’s voting process for the 2026 World Cup was concluded in 2018, leaving the US and Mexico (and commercial partners of course) 8 years of runway time. The US and Mexico actually retracted their bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, due in large part to the lack of prep time. They instead have thrown their hat in for 2031, hoping a decision will be reached more quickly.

The timing issue is unfortunately one of the many fumbles by FIFA to appropriately value the Women’s World Cup: to give something it’s due, you actually need to plan ahead. After more than one billion people tuned in to watch the Women’s World Cup in 2019, FIFA expected a generous offer for the broadcasting rights in 2023. However, they did little to secure this deal or negotiate it in advance of the event. “FIFA only really came out of the woodwork a short time before the tournament saying how valuable the women’s rights are and that broadcasters should pay more,” shared Rebecca Sowden, former NZ footballer and founder of Team Heroine, a marketing and sponsorship consultancy that “corrects the internet” by advocating for equal sports coverage. “They should be communicating and advocating for the women’s game and its value every day, through the whole four year World Cup cycle.”

This all being said, there are some companies who are walking the walk, and are already promoting their 2027 WWC partnerships:

Netflix

The Women’s World Cup will be streamed on Netflix, strengthening the media giant’s foray into live sports. Netflix reportedly paid $200 million for the 2027 rights across the US and Canada, in one of the biggest annual women’s sports broadcasting deals. What’s more? All the paperwork was signed well ahead of time. Netflix has also secured the rights for the 2031 edition of the Women’s World Cup, although they have declined to comment on the amount of zeros associated with that deal.

One of Netflix’s first campaigns to promote the upcoming World Cup has already dropped, and I kind of love it. Netflix knows that the fastest way to our hearts is through people we already know and love. Case in point (and the reason I know about this campaign) is Coach Jackie, my favorite women’s sports influencer/educator online. Netflix mailed influencers boxes with a World Cup themed nail set, as well as a camera. While not everyone is into nails, sometimes not wearing nails is just as hilarious and catchy as wearing them. (See above.) For me, what’s in the box is less important than the message it sends. A box in the mail says “we are spending time, money and effort to market the World Cup.” It’s anyone’s guess what the camera is for.

Dove

Dove has shown itself, time and again, to be an excellent sponsor of women and girls in sport. At the core of their marketing strategy is their commitment to building the confidence of the next generation. They consistently remind us to think about how we speak to our girls, knowing that 1 in 2 girls who drop out of sports have their body criticized.

What I love about their Women’s World Cup strategy is it started with the Men’s World Cup. Dove showed its commitment in so many ways (I loved the team-themed soaps!) and showed that they were not just a regular partner, they were a cool partner of the 2026 edition. But while the Dove coverage was all celebratory of the boys, it was, and has always been, a brand for the girls (with a countdown to the Women’s World Cup already on!). Dove highlighted all of the women during the Men’s World Cup, the who’s who of working on and off the field, and spotlighting our stars. One of my favorite parts of Dove’s support of the Men’s World Cup was inviting a box full of female icons to enjoy the final. Athletes like Alyssa Thompson posting in partnership with Dove shows that Dove’s relationship to women’s sports, and soccer in particular, is here to stay. So much of their content surrounding the men’s event included foreshadowing of the women’s, and I loved the message of equality that coverage brought. A true, long term partnership like Dove’s is hard to come by, and we can’t wait to see what their support of the Women’s World Cup looks like next year.

We don’t all have the marketing budget of Dove or Netflix, but it’s absolutely not too late to create a meaningful partnership with the women of the 2027 World Cup. If you’re a brand looking for some soccer strategy tips, look no further than this article written by our CEO Leela Srinivasan for Fast Company. Here are some of her top takeaways:

1. 1.This is the first time in more than a decade that the Women’s World Cup will take place in the Americas, and the time zone will be perfect for live fan experiences: watching the matches, gathering at local sports bars or engaging on social media.
2. 2.Building a relationship with fans now will lead you directly into 2028, when international soccer will be stateside as part of the LA Olympics and Paralympics.
3. 3.Investing in women’s soccer will connect you to one of the most loyal sports fan bases in the world: women’s soccer fans are 58% more likely than other women’s sports fans to make a purchase based on a brand’s sponsorship.
4. 4.A partnership created for the World Cup can connect you to the US’s thriving domestic league, the NWSL.

Whoever you’re cheering for, and however you’re counting down to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027, we’re right there with you and can’t wait to celebrate all the wins, both on and off the field.