When you talk about women’s soccer teams the first thought is typically, will they survive? With multiple women’s leagues and teams being mowed down like Spring grass, I wonder the same thing. How do teams make it past years one through three to be sustainable? Fans are the biggest piece to the puzzle, a supportive community.

In soccer, the words community and family are used abundantly. How do these words go from being a slogan with a hashtag to being woven into the fabric of the club? When I think about family, they know each other by name, have each other’s phone numbers, help each other out, eat together, there is mutual reciprocity. Applying a family dynamic to a club model do these aspects still hold true? Community engagement is critical to sustaining a soccer team in the area they reside. Fans are needed to buy tickets, merchandise, share on social media, and spread news via word of mouth. In an increasing number of cases it is becoming clear that teams have become transactional, seeing fans simply as dollars instead of breathing organisms with feelings.

How does a club go from being transactional to transformational? As a fan I have struggled being on the receiving end of this. It’s completely ok to take my money for a season ticket, but providing anything else is stunted. When I just had hip surgery, was on crutches, and wanted to attend a game there was no discussion of accommodation to a closer parking space or providing a wheelchair. I crutched with multiple rests to get to the stadium. The summary of the interchange was if I didn’t have a handicap tag I was out of luck and had to park with the rest of general admission. As a multi-year season ticket holder, it was made crystal clear that I was not family and no one cared whether I actually attended the match as long as I paid my yearly membership. That is where the transaction ended.

Community is beyond just purchasing a ticket; the implication is a depth of humanity more than a game day interaction. Community is what is off the field. If you are not providing a more engaged experience my transaction as a fan can go down the road and see the same soccer product at a different field. If a team wants more than just butts in seats: sponsorship, loyalty, merchandise purchases, what do you provide that will keep me engaged and loyal? It is often cheaper for a business to keep a customer that you have over finding new ones.

I want to see healthy thriving D2 and D3 soccer teams. I want teams to decide how long they will be around for, not on a season to season basis. I put together a list of practical things clubs can do to engage the community you are a part of. The emphasis being on part of the whole.

Running a team is a business, if you don’t know what to do the best place to start is like most businesses, survey your attendees. Make sure the survey is honest and doesn’t skew towards the answers you want. You will never grow otherwise.

Game day experience
- Win OR lose the team needs to walk over to the fans after EVERY match. The fans are the reason the team exists in the first place
- Stop by the tailgate for even a few minutes. Allow fans to take a selfie that they will share on social media. The players will realize how appreciated they are and the supporters will feel rewarded.
- Talk to fans after the game, take pictures, sign things, give high fives.
- Bayern Munich has their World Cup winning players, Thomas Mueller is one, to attend Annual General Meetings of their supporters groups. If one of the best players and teams in the world can do this why can’t you?
- Find local musicians for the national anthem. They have their own fan base that they are exposing to your team. There will always be people who have never heard of you.
- Half-time should be varied and a time to engage those in attendance. I get bored when it’s the exact same thing at every game.
- Have the local fire and police before the game to embrace this aspect for the community and expose kids to those agencies.
- Derbies create meaning for local rivalries. Playing teams from out of town fans don’t know importance or history. A derby points to specific matches that are key in a team’s season.

Community Involvement

Free and discounted tickets. As you are in the community give something to them, don’t just ask for them to pay full price.
Teams cast a vast net of invitations for a launch, that same pursuit needs to be continued throughout the year every year. In the women’s leagues with a short two-month season if you start promotion when the season begins you might have one or two more games left by the time the buzz happens.
Expand your definition of soccer community beyond youth clubs. If you are a team that is not affiliated with a youth club you should be partnering with the local adult men’s, women’s, and soccer leagues, indoor, outdoor, futsal, beach, street. If you want these leagues to attend your matches and potentially be a feeder of talent, are you registered in their leagues? Give them a discount. If you are a youth club what are you giving parents in exchange for their dues?
- There is a whole generation of women who grew up playing soccer and are not marketed towards for engagement. I know I am one of them. Marketing to youth is great to develop the future of the club, but marketing to young adults is a way to encourage current growth. Singles without kids have a larger disposable income to spend on tickets and merchandise. You can find these individuals in your local women’s leagues.
Chamber of Commerce is a great way to know your community, and people who are influential. There are always people behind the scenes who make things happen.
Non-soccer aspects of the community to participate in: food, music, fashion, arts, non-profits, schools, emergency relief, donations, etc. I have seen teams set up their players to talk in schools as role models.
What events are happening locally? Can you sponsor an event? If you want people at your events you need to go to theirs.
Civic leaders, invite local government not just big city mayors, who already have full schedules. Local legislators, town council, chamber of commerce board members, judges, etc. should be invited to attend key matches
Local soccer podcast and bloggers are a free way to promote your team instead of the larger network stations. These entities are always looking for guests or to break the latest information, allow them to be your outlet. Ask them if your coach or players can come on as guests. As far as relationship building goes if they know about you they will talk about you more on their shows. Have your players and the team follow them on social media and share their posts. This will expand your reach to soccer fans that may not be in your sphere of influence.
Inclusivity – communities you are in are diverse in composition, gender, age, race, sexual orientation, religion, does your team represent this on and off the field?
- Evaluate your inclusivity by pulling up one of your social media platforms and count the number of fans/players representing a race or gender that appear. I count the number of times women appear in marketing for my local USL Championship team’s social media pics and videos. Unconscious bias exists and can be seen in the people posted in marketing pieces.
- Women are 50% of the population and count for roughly 50% of attendance. Don’t miss out on 50% of the revenue.
- Evaluate who is attending your games. What age group? What gender?

Financial

Sponsorship is the biggest driver of team viability. It is also the most competitive aspect as many teams and non-profits fight for the big dollars of state-wide chains. The best sponsors are the local businesses who believe in the community and share the same desires to see your neighborhood and section of town grow. Don’t ignore a name that is not familiar with you, you never know who has deep pockets or could grow as an investment partner.
- I reached out to a new soccer team, hoping to integrate them into my company marketing strategy, I never got a call back even after multiple follow ups. When I finally did talk to someone I was told they were not taking on local business sponsorships as they were pursuing nationwide high dollar partners. He never asked how much I wanted to invest. It was clear that my money was not as good as Nike’s money. I took my marketing dollars to the local AAA baseball team who was very accommodating with several face to face meetings, cell number of the GM, adjusting marketing packages to our needs.
Anyone who asks about marketing or sponsorship wants to give money. Build that relationship and what might be minimal investments this year could grow in future years.
Sponsorship relationships require a communication plan.
- Yearly renewal email asking them to sponsor again this year and inquire if they would like to increase their give. This should be done several months before the season starts
- Follow up meeting after the season with sponsors to listen and receive feedback on ROI it brought them or how they felt being part of a grassroots effort. This will solidify the relationship.
- Give. Give to your sponsors something from the club, this could vary by level of investment. At minimum they should receive 4 season tickets. Team merchandise, a signed jersey, recognition at a game, promote the business or product on team social media page, and hang a banner with their logo are all great ways to show mutual interest.

Team

Hire locally for the positions on the team.
Recruit local players. Why not scout at women’s league? I have seen former Mexican and Norway international team players at the local women’s league. These are the people who are passionate about playing.
Create a culture on the team that sets a tone of community mindedness. Are you encouraging your players to be in the community? Support your sponsors? Follow and share posts from key soccer community members on social media.
Dialogue with the team and ask what area is your team serving in the community and are you doing a good job with it. Honest self-reflection breeds change.

- Danielle Gawronski