Mastercard joins NWSL to boost sport's promotion

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astercard has announced that it is joining the US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) as an official partner, strengthening the brand’s commitment to women’s soccer and its fanbase.

Mastercard and the NWSL will work together to elevate the experience for fans, with one of the top NWSL players, Crystal Dunn, joining the all-star roster of soccer players who serve as Mastercard Global Brand Ambassadors.

“We are excited to welcome Mastercard as one of our Top Tier Partners, a brand with a storied history of creating priceless fan experiences,” said NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird.

“We have the best fans out there. Their commitment to the sport is unrivalled. They deserve to have an experience on par with any major sports league, and that time has arrived. The planned Mastercard activations have the power to unite and energize not only our current fan base, but to bring even more fans in, truly benefitting our players and women’s soccer overall.”

To celebrate the new partnership, Mastercard will begin rolling out Priceless experiences both virtually and in-person. The VIP Game Day Experience went live on Priceless.com on 14 May, with more to follow. This first experience is to be held in-person, outdoors, at NWSL games, in accordance with all local Covid guidelines and abiding by all state regulations.

Covid-19 has hit sports sponsorship hard, although some significant deals were signed in 2021. Some 930 sponsorship deals in all were signed in the first quarter of 2021, with brands estimated to spend just shy of $1.3bn on sport sponsorship.

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, 609 deals signed were new deals, generating $809.71m in sponsorship revenue for rights holders, while 35.5% (321) were renewals with an overall value of $489.36m.