Gotham FC continues outreach to Gen Alpha fans with Dove, Rebel Girls book collaboration

The GIST: This week, Gotham FC is rolling out a first-of-its-kind partnership with longtime sponsor Dove and girls empowerment brand Rebel Girls (RG), which also signed existing partnerships with LOVB and AUSL after launching its dedicated sports vertical this year.

• Together, these partners published Changing the Game: A Playbook for Champions in Training, featuring former and current Gotham stars. The move illustrates increased investment from women’s sports leagues — and interested brands — to reach Gen Alpha girls and keep them in sports. There she is.

The details: The unique book aims to inspire young players by sharing the stories of USWNT legend and Gotham FC ambassador Ali Krieger and several other soccer internationals. It also includes educational tools and training tips, dovetailing with Gotham FC’s “Keep Her in the Game” initiative, which reached over 1.7K girls in NY and New Jersey last year.

• The free book is available for digital download, with physical copies gifted to girls in the “Keep Her in the Game” program, local libraries, schools, and other nonprofit partners, and given out at Gotham’s game tomorrow. Through these various channels, these organizations hope to reach over 1M readers.

The sponsors: Between Dove and Rebel Girls, there’s a lot of brand alignment with Gotham, a surging club with access to NYC–area programs dedicated to uplifting girls in sports. Dove’s involvement builds on its “Body Confident” initiative, which examined dropout rates for girls in sports and created online coaching tools to keep them in the game.

• This tracks with RG’s mission to educate and inspire girls, which it extended to sports after observing the ROI of sports storytelling. Last December, nearly half of its 20 most-watched YouTube videos focused on sports, and after launching Rebel Girl Sports in January, the channel has 8.4M views and 236K hours watched.

Zooming out: Projects like this help leagues and brands reach Gen Alpha, which boasts a higher share of avid soccer fans than older generations. This generation may be primed for sports fandom, but it takes investing in kid-friendly experiences and resources to keep them and their parents coming.

• Plus, centering young girls in sports marketing can go a long way in building brand affinity and loyalty for the whole family — especially since these kids overwhelmingly drive brand awareness in their households. Who’s really the boss?