Game-Changing Gear for Girls

Women’s professional sports have large contingents of young female fans who look up to the athletes and often aspire to turn pro themselves one day. In fact, part of the mission of women’s sports leagues is typically to bring young girls into the sports community as players and fans, as well as to support and celebrate girls’ confidence, independence, and other traits that will help them succeed in sports and in life. 

Licensed merchandise can contribute to this goal by making the wearer feel included in the community and by expanding awareness for the league’s messages of empowerment. Yet, despite the surge in the popularity of women’s sports—as measured by increased viewership, high attendance numbers, the popularity of individual players, the many launches of new pro leagues, and so on—it remains difficult to find licensed merchandise tied to women’s sports in many mainstream retail channels, especially in girls’ sizes. 

Things are starting to change, however, with a handful of collaborations and other initiatives launching that include merchandise as a component or the focus:

• In December, Rebel Girls announced a new sports vertical called Rebel Girls Sport, to roll out in 2025. While the brand has long offered sports content among its inspirational stories of current and historical women’s and girls’ accomplishments—sports-themed storytelling represents 45% of Rebel Girls’ top 20 most-watched YouTube content—this effort brings everything together under one umbrella. The first initiative under the brand is a partnership with a new pro league, League One Volleyball. The venture includes a weekly YouTube match-recap show, LOVB x Rebel Girls Sport, by and for girls; sponsorship of one of the teams; and other components. Other Rebel Girls Sport programs include Rebel Girls Soccer!, the first of a new series of books containing stats, how-tos, profiles, and other content tied to different sports, as well as a media rights partnership with Athletes Unlimited Softball League, another new pro-sports launch. The brand’s existing three-year partnership with Nike, focused on women’s basketball, is also part of the mix. Licensed sports-related merchandise such as apparel and jewelry from licensees Mightly, Adora, and Charm It! are in the works. 

• Mattel and the Professional Women’s Hockey League partnered in May 2024 to debut a collection of apparel and accessories featuring Barbie. The merchandise followed the brand’s introduction as an official marketing partner of the new league in February of that year, with Barbie starring in video content, in-arena rink boards, and in-game elements. The product range includes shirts, totes, and tumblers, for adults as well as girls, featuring slogans such as “Crushin’ Limits,” “Chase Your Dreams,” “Goal Getter,” and “Dream It, Do It.” The assortment is sold through the PWHL’s official shop. 

• Also in May, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced a deal with the WNBA, making Dick’s the official sporting goods retailer of the league, with the initial focus on an exclusive range of girls’ apparel. This represented the first agreement between the two players and the first WNBA clothing made just for girls; the retailer had already been carrying WNBA apparel and equipment from other licensees. The launch range included t-shirts, tank tops, shorts, and a jacket, in both WNBA orange and the colors of the 12 teams. The collection was part of Dick’s giveback program, Sports Matter, founded by the retailer and its foundation in 2014, which has committed more than $100 million to support young athletes with registration fees, equipment, playing fields, and other costs, helping more than two million children along the way. 

Aside from programs like these, girls can find products by turning to specialist licensees like Playa Society and Togethxr, which have a mission of supporting women and women’s sports and often offer some girls’ pieces in their broader ranges tied to women’s sports entities. Young fans can also secure merchandise through the leagues’ e-shops, where a few custom items for girls are typically among the offerings; print-on-demand sites like Breaking T; creator-driven POD sites like Tee Public; or maker communities like Etsy, where the assortments are unofficial. 

Almost 73% of consumers across seven countries say they watch women’s sports at least a few times per year, according to a survey from Parity, a marketing and sponsorship platform focused on women’s sports. This is not far behind the 81% who watch men’s sports at the same frequency. And, as an indicator of the fast pace of growth in this sector, 54% of the women’s fans only began watching within the last three years. 

It stands to reason that more mainstream licensees and retailers will ultimately get on board as the fan base continues to grow, opportunities for collaborations in women’s sports increase, and success stories become more frequent and better publicized.